Do senescence markers correlate in vitro and in situ within individual human donors?

Abstract

Little is known on how well senescence markers in vitro and in situ correlate within individual donors. We studied correlations between the same and different in vitro markers. Furthermore, we tested correlations between in vitro markers with in situ p16INK4a positivity. From 100 donors (20-91 years), cultured dermal fibroblasts were assessed for reactive oxygen species (ROS), telomere-associated foci (TAF), p16INK4a and senescence-associated β-gal (SAβ-gal), with/without 0.6 μM rotenone for 3 days (short-term). In fibroblasts from 40 donors, telomere shortening, ROS and SAβ-gal were additionally assessed, with/without 20 nM rotenone for 7 weeks (long-term). In skin from 52 donors, the numbe..