Growth Characteristics of Werner Syndrome Cells in Vitro

Abstract

Cultured skin fibroblast-like (FL) cells from patients with Werner syndrome grow poorly: reduced growth potential has been reported by more than 11 laboratories for cultures from more than 26 patients, using many different tissue culture media. This characteristic is of importance to research in Werner syndrome for several reasons. It remains to be determined whether poor growth is a primary or a secondary manifestation of the basic molecular defect, and the relationship is not yet clear between reduced growth of cultured skin fibroblasts and the other manifestations of Werner syndrome in vitro and in vivo. This characteristic also makes it difficult to obtain sufficient growth for clonal studies or for biochemical studies that require a large number of cells.