Alternate Cellular Models for Aging Studies

Abstract

Studies such as those described by Drs. Macieira-Coelho and Mitsui lead to increased insignt into the mechanisms of the limited proliferative capacity of human diploid fibroblasts. While I suggest that these elegant studies of the in vitro passage of human cells be continued, I urge the development of alternate models for the study of cellular aging. In our laboratory, we have examined human diploid cells as a function of in vitro passage and the age of the donor of these cells. The first studies in this latter area were conducted by Drs. Hayflick, Goldstein, Martin, and their co-workers (1–3). These investigators demonstrated the diminished proliferative potential of cell cultures with the increasing age of the donor. At the Gerontology Research Center in Baltimore, we have been fortunate to be able to conduct our studies on skin fibroblast cultures derived from young and old volunteer members of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study. We have examined the total replicative ability of these skin fibroblast cultures, as well as many of the parameters analyzed by Drs. Mitsui and Macieira-Coelho as a function of in vitro passage (4).