CORRELATION BETWEEN SENESCENCE AND DNA-REPAIR IN CELLS FROM YOUNG ANDOLD INDIVIDUALS AND IN PREMATURE AGING SYNDROMES

Cellular aging appears to be related to and perhaps caused by diminish ed DNA repair. To elucidate direct correlations between DNA repair cap acity and senescence various parameters of cellular aging and DNA repa ir were studied simultaneously. Of special interest are features of DN A repair and senescence in cultured diploid fibroblasts derived either from healthy young or elderly probands as well as from patients suffe ring from premature senescence syndromes (Werner syndrome, Cockayne sy ndrome, ataxia telangiectasia and Down syndrome). Here we demonstrate the striking parallelism between reduced maximal lifespan, elevated le vels of spontaneous chromosomal breaks, higher incidence of formation of micronuclei, a significant prolongation of cell cycle duration and a diminished reactivation of in vitro injured plasmid after transfecti on in cells from old individuals and from patients with premature sene scence syndromes, suggesting a causal relationship between senescence and DNA damage.