Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Telomere-dependent senescence

Nature Biotechnology volume 17, page 313 (1999)Cite this article

This article has been updated

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

To the editor:

Rubin1,2 has argued in your commentary and elsewhere that the limited division capacity of primary human cells in vitro is due to the accumulation of "damage" during cell culture. For fibroblasts, this possibility has now been disproven. Telomerase on its own can extend the in vitro lifespan of human fibroblasts3,4,5 with no detectable change in phenotype6,7. These otherwise normal cells are maintained under identical culture conditions to controls and in Rubin's model should thus still "sustain cumulative damage during serial subcultivations"2. The fact that they continue to divide indefinitely is proof that telomere erosion is directly involved in fibroblast senescence and that any other damage that occurs in vitro is insufficient to halt cell division.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Change history

  • 27 March 2018

    This article was initially published with an incorrect DOI that did not match the registered version at Crossref. The DOI has been corrected in the article.

References

  1. Rubin, H. Nat. Biotechnol. 16, 396–397 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rubin, H. Mech. Ageing Dev. 98, 1–35 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bodnar, A.G. et al. Science 279, 349–352 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Counter, C.M. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 14723– 14728 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Vaziri, H. & Benchimol, S. Curr. Biol. 8, 279–282 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Jiang, X.R. et al. Nat. Genet. 21, 111–114 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Morales, C.P. et al. Nat. Genet. 21, 115–118 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Rubin, H. Nat. Biotechnol. 17, 4 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Cristofalo, V.J. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 10614– 10619 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Chang, E. & Harley, C.B. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 11190–11194 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Allsopp, R.C. et al. Exp. Cell Res. 220, 194–200 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kipling, D. The telomere (Oxford University Press, New York; 1995 ).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Olovnikov, A.M. Dokl. Akad. Nauk. SSSR 201, 1496–1499 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Blasco, M.A. et al. Cell 91, 25–34 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lee, H-W. et al. Nature 392, 569–574 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Faragher, R.G.A., Jones, C.J. & Kipling, D. Nat. Biotechnol. 16, 701– 702 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Russo, I. et al. Oncogene 17, 3417–3426 ( 1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kolquist, K.A. et al. Nat. Genet. 19,182–186 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wales College of Medicine,

    David Kipling, David Wynford-Thomas & Chris J. Jones

  2. Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London

    Arne Akbar

  3. Imperial College School of Medicine at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital,

    Richard Aspinall

  4. McMaster University Medical Center, Ontario

    Silvia Bacchetti

  5. Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, Madrid

    Maria A. Blasco

  6. The Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia

    Dominique Broccoli

  7. Harvard Medical School,

    Ron A. DePinho

  8. University of East Anglia,

    Dylan R. Edwards

  9. UCLA School of Medicine,

    Rita B. Effros

  10. Geron Corporation, Menlo Park

    Calvin B. Harley

  11. BC Cancer Research Centre,

    Peter M. Lansdorp

  12. University of Gröningen,

    Maarten H.K. Linskens & Karen R. Prowse

  13. Brunel University, Uxbridge

    Robert F. Newbold

  14. Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

    Alexey M. Olovnikov

  15. CRC Beatson Laboratories,

    E. Kenneth Parkinson

  16. University of Tübingen,

    Graham Pawelec

  17. University of Uppsala,

    Jan Pontén

  18. King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London

    Sydney Shall

  19. Erasmus University Rotterdam FGG,

    Mark Zijlmans

  20. University of Brighton,

    Richard G.A. Faragher

Authors
  1. David Kipling
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Wynford-Thomas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chris J. Jones
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Arne Akbar
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Richard Aspinall
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Silvia Bacchetti
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Maria A. Blasco
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Dominique Broccoli
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Ron A. DePinho
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Dylan R. Edwards
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Rita B. Effros
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Calvin B. Harley
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Peter M. Lansdorp
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Maarten H.K. Linskens
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Karen R. Prowse
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Robert F. Newbold
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Alexey M. Olovnikov
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  18. E. Kenneth Parkinson
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Graham Pawelec
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Jan Pontén
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Sydney Shall
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  22. Mark Zijlmans
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  23. Richard G.A. Faragher
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kipling, D., Wynford-Thomas, D., Jones, C. et al. Telomere-dependent senescence. Nat Biotechnol 17, 313 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/7827

Download citation

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/7827

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing