Molecular changes with in vitro cellular senescence.
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Autoimmune-target cells in autoimmune disease (AID) are usually construed as constitutionally normal healthy cells. A related assumption is that other cells in the body of AID patients, except for certain immunocytes, are healthy cells. An implication of that view is that any systemic pathology in organ-specific AID is related to metabolic derangements secondary to tissue destruction. However, much data on target and other cells in AID suggest widespread primary cellular defects. In insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), for example, many "complications" such as atherosclerosis, premature arterial stiffening, senescence of fibroblasts in vitro, and exuberant growth of smooth muscle and mesangial cells in vivo are not strictly attributable to glucose elevation. Also unexplained is the similar appearance of IDDM beta-cells and cells from insulinoma and why the prodromal phase of IDDM has many insulinoma-like features. While AID target cells have often been likened to neoplastic cells, investigators have rarely explored the possibility that autoimmunity in AID is fundamentally antineoplastic. This is likely because the dominant ideas in oncology and immunology-somatic mutation and clonal deletion, respectively-have prevented explanations for how normal immunity could detect transforming cells not expressing non-self antigens. New and less conventional theories of cancer and immunity have facilitated such an explanation. I use Rubin's "epigenetic" aging model of carcinogenesis and Matzinger's "danger" model of immunity to integrate the immunological and oncological sides of AID. In particular, I postulate that individuals suffering from AID have inherited many foci of prematurely aging cells. Those inherently damaged cells adapt to in vivo challenges by beginning to transform into cancer cells. However, as long as those stressed cells have not fully transformed, they will continue to signal "danger" to the innate immune system. The clinical outcome of that struggle between incipient neoplasia and immunity will vary depending upon the degree of tumor-proneness and resistance of the individual. Borrowing from cancer geneticist Henry Lynch, I postulate that tumor-resistance is inherited as a quantitative polygenic trait in direct proportion to tumor-proneness. I further contend that tumor-proneness and immunity are linked polygenic traits such that the greater one's tumor-proneness, the more powerful his/her antitumor immunity. I point to the shared DNA repair deficiency of certain cancer-prone syndromes and HLA-linked AID, their occasional co-occurrence, and their demonstrably exceptional immunity against solid tumors. I propose that HLA-linked AID constitute "chronic hypersensitivity syndromes" due to immunity's largely hidden battle to suppress multiple incipient neoplastic microfoci. Much of the physiopathology of AID is explicable as a sustained systemic response to threatened neoplastic transformation.
Retroviral infection of hTERT, the catalytic component of telomerase, into BJ fibroblasts (population doubling 28) resulted in reconstitution of telomerase activity, telomere maintenance, and extension of in vitro lifespan. The hTERT-infected cells also exhibited increased growth rate and colony forming efficiency relative to controls, while remaining contact-inhibited and maintaining a p53-mediated damage response following gamma-irradiation. All single cell-derived BJ-hTERT clones grew faster than the hTERT mass cultures and maintained telomeres; however, neither telomerase activity levels nor mean telomere length correlated with the growth rate. Introduction of hTERT rescued aged BJ fibroblasts from senescence via a telomere-dependent mechanism and provided renewed proliferative potential. Collectively, our data indicate that both early and late in the cellular lifespan of human cells, ectopic expression of telomerase using a retroviral system provides a growth advantage while maintaining normal cellular characteristics.
Cultured cells lose the ability of DNA synthesis, mitosis, and finally the ability of cell proliferation after they have undergone a finite number of population doublings in vitro, though the cells still maintain the basic metabolic process. This is termed replicative senescence. We review the prevalence of replicative senescence, summarize the features of senescent cells, and then focus on the links between systemic aging and replicative senescence. The present knowledge, albeit still incomplete, proposes that replicative senescence is a reflection of systemic aging at cell level, and it fully confirms replicative senescence as a good model for the research of systemic aging.
It known that human diploid cells in culture have a limited proliferative life span (cellular senescence). Recently, evidence has accumulated that known and unknown anti-oncogenes participate in this phenomenon. Deletion or inactivation of these genes resulted in unlimited proliferation (immortalization).
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Cell degradation of various origin often starts with an ubiquitinization of damaged proteins and with later production of roughly fibrillar electron-microscopical inclusions. There is a strong immunohistological positivity of ubiquitin in the early intracellular phase. It tends toward an apoptotic lysis either ending with extracellular immunohistologically inert refuse of amyloid type or representing various inter-steps of the degradation process. The ubiquitinization is the most common in neurons and paraneurons. A general importance of ubiquitinization is proved by ubiquitin fibrillar inclusions which were observed in growing old tissue cultures as an expression of programmed cell death. Immunodetection of increased ubiquitin is labour-saving as compared with some classical methods detecting similar lesions particularly in neuropathology.
Hyporesponsiveness to growth factors is one of the fundamental characteristics of senescent cells. We previously reported that the up-regulation of caveolin attenuates the growth factor response and the subsequent downstream signal cascades in senescent human diploid fibroblasts. Therefore, in the present experiment, we investigated the modulation of caveolin status in senescent cells to determine the effect of caveolin on mitogenic signaling efficiency and cell cycling. We reduced the level of caveolin-1 in senescent human diploid fibroblasts using its antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNA, and this resulted in the restoration of normal growth factor responses such as the increased phosphorylation of Erk, the nuclear translocation of p-Erk, and the subsequent activation of p-Elk upon epidermal growth factor stimulation. Moreover, DNA synthesis and the re-entry of senescent cells into cell cycle were resumed upon epidermal growth factor stimulation concomitantly with decreases in p53 and p21. Taken together, we conclude that the loss of mitogenic signaling in senescent cells is strongly related to their elevated levels of caveolin-1 and that the functional recovery of senescent cells at least in the terms of growth factor responsiveness and cell cycle entry might be achieved simply by lowering the caveolin level.
BACKGROUND: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is widely used for pigmentary disorders, but its anti-ageing potential remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate whether topical 3% TXA improves early periorbital wrinkles in women with facial melasma and to investigate whether TXA protects human dermal fibroblasts from D-galactose-induced senescence via the GPR30/MAPK pathway. METHODS: Fifty women with melasma were randomized to 3% TXA serum plus moisturizer or moisturizer alone for 8 weeks, with follow-up to week 12. Periorbital wrinkles were graded using a modified Fitzpatrick Wrinkle Scale (MFWS). Separately, D-gal-induced senescence in HDFs was assessed via viability, SA-β-gal activity, senescence markers, ROS, antioxidant enzymes, SASP/ECM gene expression, and MAPK activation. GPR30 involvement was examined using antagonist G15, shRNA knockdown, and molecular docking. RESULTS: Topical TXA produced significantly greater MFWS reductions versus moisturizer alone at weeks 4, 8, and 12, with benefit persisting post-treatment. In HDFs, TXA preserved viability, reduced SA-β-gal positivity, attenuated p21/p16, restored Lamin B1, decreased ROS, and rescued antioxidant activities. TXA downregulated IL-6, IL-8, MMP1, and MMP3, and suppressed D-gal-induced ERK, JNK, and p38 phosphorylation. These effects were weakened by G15 or GPR30 knockdown; docking supported a stable TXA-GPR30 interaction. CONCLUSIONS: TXA showed clinical anti-wrinkle activity in melasma patients and protected HDFs from D-gal-induced senescence, partly via GPR30-dependent modulation of oxidative stress, SASP/ECM expression, and MAPK signalling. TXA is a promising candidate for skin ageing intervention.
Senescent human diploid fibroblasts do not respond to growth factors like epidermal growth factor (EGF), although they have a normal level of receptors and downstream signaling molecules. To examine the mechanism of signaling attenuation, we investigated Erk activation after EGF stimulation in senescent cells. Senescent cells did not phosphorylate Erk-1/2 after EGF stimulation, whereas young cells did. In those senescent cells, we found an increased level of caveolin proteins and strong interactions between caveolin-1 and EGF receptor. Electron microscopic analysis demonstrated an increased number of caveolae structures in senescent cells. More interestingly, brain, spleen, and lung from 26-month-old rats showed substantial increases of caveolin proteins. However, in the case of p53-induced senescence, caveolin-1 was not induced, and EGF stimulation phosphorylated Erk-1/2 as much as young control cells. Finally, we overexpressed caveolin-1 in young human diploid fibroblasts in which the activation of Erk-1/2 upon EGF stimulation was significantly suppressed. These results suggest that the unresponsiveness of senescent fibroblasts to EGF stimulation may be due to the overexpression of caveolins, which seems to be independent of growth arrest and other aging phenotypes.
We recently showed that ceramide is elevated in senescence and that when administered to low-passage cells induces biochemical changes characteristic of senescence. The in situ histochemical marker beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) has provided an important tool in the study of cellular senescence. We investigated the ability of ceramide to induce the expression of beta-Gal and correlated this with cell proliferation. We find that D-e-C6-ceramide, induces the expression of acidic beta-Gal in fetal lung-derived Wi-38 human diploid fibroblasts. Our results show that this induction is: (1) time and concentration dependent; and (2) reversible upon ceramide removal. We also find that concomitant with the onset of beta-Gal staining, DNA synthesis is blocked. These conditions are reversible. The induction of beta-Gal expression is specific to C6-ceramide. We discuss a potential role of beta-Gal in the regulation of senescence. Although signal transduction of senescence is still not fully understood, this new evidence strengthens the hypothesis that ceramide plays a key role in signaling down stream biochemical changes in cellular senescence.
BACKGROUND: The loss of alveolar walls is a hallmark of emphysema. As fibroblasts play an important role in the maintenance of alveolar structure, a change in fibroblast phenotype could be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. In a previous study we found a reduced in vitro proliferation rate and number of population doublings of parenchymal lung fibroblasts from patients with emphysema and we hypothesized that these findings could be related to a premature cellular aging of these cells. In this study, we therefore compared cellular senescence markers and expression of respective genes between lung fibroblasts from patients with emphysema and control patients without COPD. METHODS: Primary lung fibroblasts were obtained from 13 patients with moderate to severe lung emphysema (E) and 15 controls (C) undergoing surgery for lung tumor resection or volume reduction (n = 2). Fibroblasts (8E/9C) were stained for senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-Gal). In independent cultures, DNA from lung fibroblasts (7E/8C) was assessed for mean telomere length. Two exploratory 12 k cDNA microarrays were used to assess gene expression in pooled fibroblasts (3E/3C). Subsequently, expression of selected genes was evaluated by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in fibroblasts of individual patients (10E/9C) and protein concentration was analyzed in the cell culture supernatant. RESULTS: The median (quartiles) percentage of fibroblasts positive for SA-beta-Gal was 4.4 (3.2;4.7) % in controls and 16.0 (10.0;24.8) % in emphysema (p = 0.001), while telomere length was not different. Among the candidates for differentially expressed genes in the array (factor > or = 3), 15 were upregulated and 121 downregulated in emphysema. qPCR confirmed the upregulation of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and IGFBP-rP1 (p = 0.029, p = 0.0002), while expression of IGFBP-5, -rP2 (CTGF), -rP4 (Cyr61), FOSL1, LOXL2, OAZ1 and CDK4 was not different between groups. In line with the gene expression we found increased cell culture supernatant concentrations of IGFBP-3 (p = 0.006) in emphysema. CONCLUSION: These data support the hypothesis that premature aging of lung fibroblasts occurs in emphysema, via a telomere-independent mechanism. The upregulation of the senescence-associated IGFBP-3 and -rP1 in emphysema suggests that inhibition of the action of insulin and insulin-like growth factors could be involved in the reduced in vitro-proliferation rate.
One of the characteristics of the senescent cell is apoptotic resistance. Gelsolin, a Ca(2+)-dependent actin regulatory protein, is believed to regulate the intracellular movements which are necessary for cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. Recently, gelsolin was suggested to play a role in apoptotic resistance, which led us to examine its involvement in the apoptotic resistance of senescent cells. We found that the protein and mRNA levels of gelsolin were increased in senescent human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs). Gelsolin was intracellularly co-localized to the actin stress fiber and distributed to the nucleus and mitochondria in old HDFs. To examine the anti-apoptotic function of gelsolin in senescent HDFs, we tried to downregulate the expression of gelsolin by using antisense oligonucleotide in old HDFs. We then treated the senescent HDFs with the apoptosis-inducing agent menadione. Downregulation of gelsolin in senescent HDFs resulted in increased sensitivity to menadione-induced apoptotic cell death. This suggests that gelsolin plays a role in the apoptotic resistance observed in senescent HDFs.
Oncogenic activation in primary murine fibroblasts initiates a senescence-like cell cycle arrest that depends on the p53 tumor suppressor pathway. Conditional p53 activation efficiently induced a reversible cell cycle arrest but was unable to induce features of senescence. In contrast, coexpression of oncogenic ras with p53 produced an irreversible cell cycle arrest that displayed features of cellular senescence. Introduction of a conditional murine p53 allele (p53val135) into double p53/p21-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts showed that p21waf1 was not required for this effect, since p53-/-;p21-/- double-null cells undergo terminal growth arrest with features of senescence following coexpression of oncogenic Ras and p53. Our results indicate that oncogenic activation of the Ras pathway in murine fibroblasts converts p53 into a senescence inducer through a p21waf1-independent mechanism.
Hydrogen peroxide has been shown to induce either apoptosis or features of senescence in different cultured cell lines. We now show that both processes can be induced in the same culture of primary human diploid fibroblasts and that the outcome of apoptosis or the senescence-like phenotype is determined by the H2O2 concentrations. At 50 and 100 microM, H2O2 predominantly induced the senescence-like state, characterized by a reduced rate of proliferation, an increased number of cells in G0-G1, typically enlarged and flattened morphology, and increased CIP1 and fibronectin expression. At 300 and 400 microM, H2O2 mainly triggered apoptosis. At the intermediate 200 microM H2O2, features of both senescence and apoptosis were observed in the same culture. Thus, the higher the H2O2 concentration, the higher the proportion of cells undergoing apoptosis, suggesting a key role of the level of damage in the choice of a cell population to enter apoptosis and/or the senescence-like state. Before the induction of one or the other process, cells entered a transient "shock state" characterized by a typical morphological change, cell cycle arrest in G0-G1, and the induction of CIP1 and BCL-2.
In order to analyze changes in metabolism of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) related to cell senescence and cell density, we compared human diploid fibroblasts (HDF) in the proliferatively vigorous first half (young cells) and senescent HDF in the last 10% (old cells) of the replicative lifespan after seeding cells over an eightfold range and proliferation to high density. Increasing the seeding cell density of both young and old HDF led to elevated rates of IGFBP-3 secretion, an increasing ratio of the 42/38 kDa species of IGFBP-3, and degradation of all species of IGFBPs derived from both the fetal bovine serum component of the culture medium and from HDF. At a given seeding density old HDF produced more IGFBP-3 and degraded more IGFBPs than young HDF. IGFBP-4 was degraded by a protease that appeared to be different from the protease(s) involved in degradation of the other IGFBPs. Young HDF at all seeding densities contained a cell-associated 29 kDa IGFBP, whereas this protein could not be detected in old cells. Thus, although certain changes in IGFBP metabolism are similar in young HDF seeded at high densities and in old HDF, young and old phenotypes can be distinguished by characteristic qualitative and quantitative changes in IGFBPs derived from fetal bovine serum and from HDF.