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Upregulation of chicken p15INK4b at senescence and in the developing brain.

In mammalian cells, products of the INK4a-ARF locus play major roles in senescence and tumour suppression in different contexts, whereas the adjacent INK4b gene is more generally associated with transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)-mediated growth arrest. As the chicken genome does not encode an equivalent of INK4a, we asked whether INK4b and/or ARF contribute to replicative senescence in chicken cells. In chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs), INK4b levels increase substantially at senescence and the gene is transcriptionally silenced in two spontaneously immortalised chicken cell lines. By contrast, ARF levels are unaffected by prolonged culture or immortalisation. These expression patterns resemble the behaviour of INK4a and ARF in human fibroblasts. However, short-hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knockdown of chicken INK4b or ARF provides only modest lifespan extension, suggesting that other factors contribute to senescence in CEFs. As well as underscoring the importance of the INK4b-ARF-INK4a locus in senescence, these findings imply that the encoded products have assumed different roles in different evolutionary niches. Although ARF RNA is not detectable in early chicken embryos, the INK4b transcript is expressed in the roof-plate of the developing hind-brain, consistent with a role in limiting cell proliferation.

Animals↗

Frequency judgments and correlated cognitive abilities in young and elderly adults.

The present study replicated and extended the results obtained earlier by Attig and Hasher (1980) in finding null effects for adult age variation and instructional variation on a relative frequency judgment task. In addition, nonsignificant covariation was found for both young and elderly adults bet ween frequency judgment proficiency and paired-associate learning proficiency, in agreement with the hypothesis that frequency judgment is mediated fully by automatic memory processes over the entire adult lifespan. Fluid intelligence test scores were also found to correlate positively with frequency judgment proficiency for young adults but not for elderly adults.

Adolescent↗

Genetic trade-off between early fecundity and longevity in Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae).

The response to selection on age at reproduction was measured to test for a genetic trade-off between early fecundity and longevity in the melon fly Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett). Three replicate lines were selected for propagation by breeding from young (Y-lines) and old (O-lines) adults, respectively. Selection was continued for 24 and 9 generations for Y- and O-lines, respectively. Females from O-lines lived longer than Y-line females as an indirect response to selection, indicating that longevity is a trait under genetic control. Females from Y-lines had higher fecundity early in the lifespan, a shorter preoviposition period, and a shorter prepeak fecundity period than females from O-lines. However, total fecundity did not differ between lines from the two selection regimes. These results suggest the existence of a genetic trade-off between early fecundity and longevity in the population examined, which may be controlled by pleiotropy. The larval period of the O-lines was longer than that of the Y-lines, whereas there were no significant effects of selection regime on egg hatchability or preadult survival rate. The trade-off relationship between early fecundity and longevity is discussed in relation to mass production of the melon fly for the sterile insect technique programme.

Journal Article↗

DNA synthesis in the heterokaryons of non-dividing differentiated cells and culture cells with various proliferative potentials.

Resident peritoneal mouse macrophages (non-dividing differentiated cells) were fused with mouse embryo fibroblasts (cells with a limited lifespan), NIH 3T3 and C3H 10T 1/2 cells ('immortal' cell lines) and SV 3T3 cells (a malignant cell line). DNA synthesis was investigated in the resultant heterokaryons. No inhibitory effect upon the transition of NIH 3T3 and mouse embryo fibroblasts nuclei to the S-phase was observed. C3H 10T 1/2, NIH 3T3 and SV 3T3 cells induced the reactivation of DNA synthesis in the macrophage nuclei in the heterokaryons. At the same time, no replication was detected in the macrophage nuclei after fusion with mouse embryo fibroblasts.

Animals↗

The effect of histidine on the structure and antitumor activity of metal-5-halouracil complexes.

The ternary complexes of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) ions with 5-halouracils, viz., 5-fluorouracil (5FU), 5-chlorouracil (5ClU), and 5-bromouracil (5BrU), and the biologically important ligand L-histidine (HISD) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, conductance measurements, infrared spectra, electronic spectra, and magnetic moment (room temperature) measurements. On the basis of these studies, the structures of the complexes have been proposed. All these ternary complexes were screened for their antitumor activity against Dalton's lymphoma in C3H/He mice. It was found that only Mn(II)-5BrU-HISD, Co(II)-5BrU-HISD, Cu(II)-5ClU-HISD, Cu(II)-5BrU-HISD, Zn(II)-5FU-HISD, and Zn(II)-5BrU-HISD complexes have significant antitumor activity with T/C greater than 125% (where T and C represent mean lifespan of treated mice and control mice respectively). The Mn(II)-5FU-HISD, Co(II)-5FU-HISD, Co(II)-5ClU-HISD, Ni(II)-5ClU-HISD, Ni(II)-5BrU-HISD, and Zn(II)-5ClU-HISD complexes are also effective antitumor agents, with T/C greater than 115%. The complexes that showed effective antitumor action in vivo were also found to inhibit 3H-thymidine incorporation (DNA replication) in Dalton's lymphoma cells in vitro.

Animals↗

Human diploid fibroblasts with alterations in ribonucleotide reductase activity, deoxyribonucleotide pools and in vitro lifespan.

Three drug resistant human diploid fibroblast clones were isolated which contained elevated levels of ribonucleotide reductase activity when compared to wild type fibroblasts. The drug resistant cells do not appear to possess an enzyme with altered affinity for hydroxyurea. The increase in enzyme activity can entirely account for cellular drug resistance. In keeping with the observed changes in reductase activity in drug resistant fibroblasts, deoxyribonucleotide pools were also found to be altered. Most significantly, there was a 1.8-fold expansion of the dCTP pool size, suggesting that elevation in intracellular dCTP concentrations plays an important role in cellular resistance. Furthermore, the drug resistant fibroblasts exhibited substantial reductions in their replicative abilities, suggesting that the regulation of ribonucleotide reductase and the accompanying deoxyribonucleotide pools in human diploid cells is involved in aspects of cellular senescence.

Cell Survival↗

Stochastic mechanism of cellular aging--abrupt telomere shortening as a model for stochastic nature of cellular aging.

A strong stochastic component has been described for the appearance of senescent cells in cultures that have not completed their in vitro lifespan. The proliferative potential of individual clones show a bimodal distribution. Additionally, two cells arising from a single mitotic event can exhibit large differences in their doubling capacities. In this report we present a model and a computer simulation of the model that explains the observed stochastic phenomena. The model is based on both gradual and abrupt telomere shortening. Gradual telomere shortening (GTS) occurs during each cell division as a consequence of the inability of DNA polymerase to replicate the very ends of chromosomal DNA. It is responsible for the gradual decline in proliferative potential of a cell culture, but does not explain the stochastic aspects of cellular aging. Abrupt telomere shortening (ATS) occurs either through DNA recombination or nuclease digestion at the subtelomeric/telomeric border region of the chromosome. Recombination involves the invasion of a telomere single-strand three-prime protruding end at this border in the telomere of the same chromosome or in another subtelomeric/telomeric region. Shortening of one or more telomeres in the cell causes a sudden onset of cell senescence, referred to as sudden senescence syndrome (SSS). This is manifested as a stochastic and abrupt transition of cells from the larger to the smaller proliferative potential pool and can cause cell cycle arrest within one cell division. The computer simulation matches well with experimental data supporting the prediction that abrupt telomere shortening underlies the stochastic onset of cell senescence. Sudden senescence syndrome appears to be the most important mechanism in the control of the extent of proliferation of a cell culture because it prevents virtually every cell in the culture from reaching its maximum doubling capacity, that would otherwise be allowed by telomere shortening via the end-replication mechanism alone.

Animals↗

[Fundamental aspects of extreme aging].

Major developments in molecular biology in invertebrates have recently shown the determining effect of genetics on aging. The first finding was that artificial selection can highlight the genetic aspect of the aging process, demonstrating the polygenetic property of longevity. Another finding showed that certain gene transfers can modulate the lifespan of an organism. Recent progress has been made in three fields: genetic markers of aging, biological basis of cell maintenance, and hereditary factors contributing to late onset genetic disease. These new developments open new avenues of research in clinical biology. In regard to genetic markers of aging, it has been demonstrated that the ends of the chromosomes, telomeres, play a role in cell senescence. Telomeres can be viewed as markers of aging. Shortened telomeres are associated with replicative senescence and antitumor action. DNA anomalies are also more frequent: simple or double breaks, additions and base substitutions. Data on the biological basis of cell maintenance obtained in invertebrates show the polygenetic property of aging involving four significant mechanisms, control of metabolism, resistance to stress, chromatin-dependent gene regulation of genetic homeostasis. Finally, recent studies have shown that late onset hereditary diseases would be linked with particular genes, some of which have been identified. Two non-exclusive mechanisms could be involved: an adaptive mechanism involving gene selection during the evolutionary process, for example in obesity; and non-adaptive accumulation of gene expression during the post-reproductive phase, for example in Alzheimer's disease. These findings open a new era for the biology of aging.

Aged↗

The disparity between human cell senescence in vitro and lifelong replication in vivo.

Cultured human fibroblasts undergo senescence (a loss of replicative capacity) after a uniform, fixed number of approximately 50 population doublings, commonly termed the Hayflick limit. It has been long known from clonal and other quantitative studies, however, that cells decline in replicative capacity from the time of explantation and do so in a stochastic manner, with a half-life of only approximately 8 doublings. The apparent 50-cell doubling limit reflects the expansive propagation of the last surviving clone. The relevance of either figure to survival of cells in the body is questionable, given that stem cells in some renewing tissues undergo >1,000 divisions in a lifetime with no morphological sign of senescence. Oddly enough, these observations have had little if any effect on general acceptance of the Hayflick limit in its original form. The absence of telomerase in cultured human cells and the shortening of telomeres at each population doubling have suggested that telomere length acts as a mitotic clock that accounts for their limited lifespan. This concept assumed an iconic character with the report that ectopic expression of telomerase by a vector greatly extended the lifespan of human cells. That something similar might occur in vivo seemed consistent with initial reports that most human somatic tissues lack telomerase activity. More careful study, however, has revealed telomerase activity in stem cells and some dividing transit cells of many renewing tissues and even in dividing myocytes of repairing cardiac muscle. It now seems likely that telomerase is active in vivo where and when it is needed to maintain tissue integrity. Caution is recommended in applying telomerase inhibition to kill telomerase-expressing cancer cells, because it would probably damage stem cells in essential organs and even increase the likelihood of secondary cancers. The risk may be especially high in sun-exposed skin, where there are usually thousands of p53-mutant clones of keratinocytes predisposed to cancer.

Animals↗

Effect of temperature on African horse sickness virus infection in Culicoides.

This paper shows that both the infection rate and the rate of virogenesis of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) within vector Culicoides are temperature dependent. As temperature is reduced from permissive levels the lifespan of the vector itself is extended but the rate of virogenesis decreases and infection rate falls dramatically so that at 10 degrees C virtually all midges are free from virus by 13 days post infection (dpi). When vectors that had been kept at this temperature for 35 days were moved to a permissive temperature for 3 days; however, the apparent zero infection rate increased to 15.5%. It therefore appears that at low temperature (< or = 15 degrees C) AHSV does not replicate but virus may persist in some vectors at a level below that detectable by traditional assay systems and when the temperature later rises to permissive levels virus replication is able to commence. On the basis of this information an overwintering mechanism for AHSV is suggested. The temperature at which the immature stages of Culicoides are reared may also influence infection with AHSV. A 5-10 degrees C rise in larval developmental temperature resulted in an increase in oral infection rate of a normally non-vector species of Culicoides, from < 1% to > 10%. A mechanism is suggested.

African Horse Sickness Virus↗

Effects of genome-wide heterozygosity on a range of biomedically relevant human quantitative traits.

The dramatic changes in human population structure over the last 200 years have resulted in significant levels of outbreeding, which, in turn, is predicted to lead to increased levels of individual genetic diversity (genome-wide heterozygosity, h). To investigate possible effects of these large demographic changes on global health, we studied the effect of h, measured as relative heterozygosity, h(R), on 15 disease-related traits in four groups of individuals with widely differing ancestral histories (ranging from outbred to inbred) from the Dalmatian islands in Croatia. Higher levels of h(R), estimated using 1184 STR/indel markers, were found in the outbred group (P < 0.0001) and were associated with lower blood pressure (BP) and total/LDL cholesterol (P = 0.01 and 0.01, respectively) after controlling for other factors, with BP showing a strong sex effect (males P > 0.5 and females P = 0.002). These findings, if replicated, suggest that h(R) be considered as a genetic risk factor in genetic epidemiological studies on common disease traits. They are consistent with the well-known effects of heterosis (hybrid vigour) described when outcrossing animals and plants. Outbreeding resulting from urbanization and migration from traditional population subgroups may be leading to increasing h(R) and may have beneficial effects on a range of traits associated with human health and disease. Other traits, such as age at menarche, IQ and lifespan, which have been changing during the decades of urbanization, may also have been influenced by demographic factors.

Age Factors↗

INK4a-deficient human diploid fibroblasts are resistant to RAS-induced senescence.

The CDKN2A tumour suppressor locus encodes two distinct proteins, p16(INK4a) and p14(ARF), both of which have been implicated in replicative senescence, the state of permanent growth arrest provoked in somatic cells by aberrant proliferative signals or by cumulative population doublings in culture. Here we describe primary fibroblasts from a member of a melanoma-prone family who is homozygous for an intragenic deletion in CDKN2A. Analyses of the resultant gene products imply that the cells are p16(INK4a) deficient but express physiologically relevant levels of a frameshift protein that retains the known functions of p14(ARF). Although they have a finite lifespan, the cells are resistant to arrest by oncogenic RAS. Indeed, ectopic expression of RAS and telomerase (hTERT) results in outgrowth of anchorage-independent colonies that have essentially diploid karyotypes and functional p53. We find that in human fibroblasts, ARF is not induced demonstrably by RAS, pointing to significant differences between the proliferative barriers implemented by the CDKN2A locus in different cell types or species.

Adult↗

Developmental differences in the immortalization of lung fibroblasts by telomerase.

The role of ambient (21%) and physiological oxygen (2-5%) in the immortalization of fetal vs. adult human lung fibroblasts was examined. Growth in low oxygen and antioxidants extended the lifespan of both fetal and adult strains. As the ectopic expression of telomerase could immortalize adult lung fibroblasts cultured in ambient oxygen, the lifespan-shortening effects of 21% oxygen must have been largely limited to telomeres. By contrast, fetal lung fibroblasts could not be immortalized in ambient oxygen in spite of telomere elongation by telomerase, suggesting more widespread oxidative damage. The long-term culture requirements for the immortalization of WI-38 fetal lung fibroblasts included supplementation with N-(tert) butyl hydroxylamine, dexamethasone, zinc and vitamin B12, in addition to growth in physiological oxygen. The mechanisms regulating telomere shortening remain controversial. The present results suggest that both end-replication and oxidative damage events contribute to telomere shortening in lung fibroblasts in vitro. These observations emphasize the need for better analytical techniques to distinguish whether the correlation of short telomeres with disease and mortality in humans reflects the consequences of increased proliferation, telomere shortening as a result of oxidative damage or some combination of these processes.

Adult↗

A general method for determining the replicative age of normal animal cell cultures.

The percentage of cells capable of forming colonies of at least a given size has been found to provide a reliable estimate of the remaining doubling potential of several human diploid fibroblast cell lines and for chick embryo fibroblasts. In five independently derived cell lines of human diploid fibroblasts we have found the same linear relationship between population doublings remaining and the percentage of cells able to form colonies of at least 16 cells. For chick embryo fibroblasts there is a linear relationship between the percentage of cells forming colonies of 64 or more cells and remaining proliferative potential. When human diploid fibroblasts were grown in medium containing hydrocortisone at 5 microgram/ml the increased in vitro lifespan was reflected in the colony size distribution long before the end of the in vitro lifespan.

Cell Count↗

A mathematical model of cellular apoptosis and senescence through the dynamics of telomere loss.

The shortening of telomeric repeats as a cell replicates has long been implicated as a determinant of cell viability. However, recent studies have indicated that it is not telomere length, but rather whether telomeres have bound a telomere-related protein, which in mammals is TTAGGG repeat binding factor-2 (TRF2), that determines whether a cell undergoes apoptosis (programmed cell death), enters senescence (a quiescent, non-replicative state), or continues to proliferate. When bound to a telomere, TRF2 allows a cell to recognize the telomere as the point where a chromosome ends rather than a break in DNA. When telomeres are not bound by TRF2, the cell can either immediately trigger senescence or apoptosis via the DNA damage response pathway, or indirectly trigger it by attempting to repair the chromosome, which results in chromosomal end joining. We model the ability of telomeres to bind TRF2 as a function of telomere length and apply the resulting binding probability to a model of cellular replication that assumes a homogeneous cell population. The model fits data from cultured human fibroblasts and human embryonic kidney cells for two free parameters well. We extract values for the percent of telomere loss at which cell proliferation ceases. We show, in agreement with previous experiments, that overexpression of TRF2 allows a cell to delay the senescence setpoint. We explore the effect of oxidative stress, which increases the rate of telomere loss, on cell viability and show that cells in the presence of oxidative stress have reduced lifespans. We also show that the addition of telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomere length, is sufficient to result in cell immortality. We conclude that the increasing inability of TRF2 to bind telomeres as they shorten is a quantitatively reasonable model for a cause of either cellular apoptosis or senescence.

Animals↗

Opposing effects of Ets and Id proteins on p16INK4a expression during cellular senescence.

The p16INK4a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor is implicated in replicative senescence, the state of permanent growth arrest provoked by cumulative cell divisions or as a response to constitutive Ras-Raf-MEK signalling in somatic cells. Some contribution to senescence presumably underlies the importance of p16INK4a as a tumour suppressor but the mechanisms regulating its expression in these different contexts remain unknown. Here we demonstrate a role for the Ets1 and Ets2 transcription factors based on their ability to activate the p16INK4a promoter through an ETS-binding site and their patterns of expression during the lifespan of human diploid fibroblasts. The induction of p16INK4a by Ets2, which is abundant in young human diploid fibroblasts, is potentiated by signalling through the Ras-Raf-MEK kinase cascade and inhibited by a direct interaction with the helix-loop-helix protein Id1 (ref. 11). In senescent cells, where the Ets2 levels and MEK signalling decline, the marked increase in p16INK4a expression is consistent with the reciprocal reduction of Id1 and accumulation of Ets1.

Animals↗

Optimizing within-host viral fitness: infected cell lifespan and virion production rate.

We explore how an infected cell's virion production rate can affect the relative fitness of a virus within a host. We perform an invasion analysis, based on an age-structured model of viral dynamics, to derive the within-host relative viral fitness. We find that for chronic infections, in the absence of trade-offs between viral life history stages, natural selection favors viral strains whose virion production rate maximizes viral burst size. We then show how various life history trade-offs such as that between virion production and immune system recognition and clearance of virally infected cells can lead to natural selection favoring production rates lower than the one that maximizes burst size. Our findings suggest that HIV replication rates should vary between cells with different life spans, as has been suggested by recent observation.

Cells↗

Telomerase and differentiation in multicellular organisms: turn it off, turn it on, and turn it off again.

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex that catalyses the addition of TTAGGG repeats onto telomeres, repetitive DNA structures found at the ends of linear chromosomes. The majority of human somatic tissues do not display telomerase activity and undergo telomeric shortening with consecutive divisions. This telomeric shortening results in replicative senescence in vitro and likely in vivo. Telomerase activity is present in the vast majority of tumors, preventing telomeric shortening and thereby enabling indefinite cell divisions. Telomerase activity is regulated throughout human development, undergoing silencing in almost all organ systems from embryogenesis onwards. However, regulated telomerase activity is seen in basal/stem cell compartments of highly regenerative tissues, such as those of the immune system, skin, and intestine. Avian species display telomerase repression and telomeric shortening similar to that seen in humans. However, rodents retain telomerase-competency throughout their lifespan and have not been shown to display division-dependent telomere shortening. The regulation of telomerase activity in plants is less well understood, although early indications suggest ubiquitous competency. The aim of this review is to present current data regarding developmental regulation of telomerase in humans, mice, chickens and flowering plants. Differentiation, quiescence and telomerase activity regulation will then be addressed in three human representative tissue systems; blood, skin, and intestine. We will also highlight similarities, differences and misconceptions in the developing field of telomere and telomerase biology.

Animals↗