Aging cell culture: methods and observations

Abstract

Culturing and subcultivation of normal human diploid fibroblasts have advanced our understanding of the molecular events involved in aging. This progress is leading to the development of therapies that slow or ablate the adverse physiological and pathological changes associated with aging. It has been established that normal human diploid fibroblasts can proliferate in culture for only finite periods of time. Hayflick and Moorhead and others have described numerous types of cells, ranging from fetal to adult, that were incapable of indefinite proliferation. There are many ways to study aging in vitro, and this chapter summarizes some laboratory procedures.

Fig. 1

Equation to determine population doubling of aging cells in culture. Where A equals no. of cells plated, B equals no. of cells counted after growth period, C equals old population doubling, D equals new population doubling and n equals the largest number that satisfies the equation A(2ⁿ) ≤ B.