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Hayflick limit

 
Sci-Tech Dictionary: Hayflick limit
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(′hā′flik ′lim·ət)

(physiology) The finite replicative capacity of normal somatic cells.

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Wikipedia: Hayflick limit
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The Hayflick limit is the number of times a normal cell population will divide before it stops, presumably because the telomeres reach a critical length.[1][2]

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Overview

The Hayflick limit was discovered by Leonard Hayflick in 1961,[1] at the Wistar Institute (Philadelphia), when Hayflick demonstrated that a population of normal human fetal cells in a cell culture divide between 40 and 60 times. It then enters a senescence phase (refuting the contention by Alexis Carrel that normal cells are immortal). Each mitosis shortens the telomeres on the DNA of the cell. Telomere shortening in humans eventually blocks cell division and correlates with aging. This mechanism appears to prevent genomic instability and the development of cancer.

Carnosine can increase the Hayflick limit in human fibroblasts,[3] as well as appearing to reduce the telomere shortening rate.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hayflick L, Moorhead PS (1961). "The serial cultivation of human diploid cell strains". Exp Cell Res 25: 585-621. PMID 13905659. 
  2. ^ Hayflick L. (1965). "The limited in vitro lifetime of human diploid cell strains.". Exp. Cell Res. 37 (3): 614–636. doi:10.1016/0014-4827(65)90211-9. PMID 14315085. 
  3. ^ McFarlan GA.; Holliday R. (1994). "Retardation of the senescence of cultured human fibroblasts by carnosine". Exp. Cell Res. 212 (2): 167–175. doi:10.1006/excr.1994.1132. PMID 8187813. 
  4. ^ Shao L; Li QH, Tan Z (2004). "L-carnosine reduces telomere damage and shortening rate in cultured normal fibroblasts.". Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 324 (2): 931–936. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.09.136. PMID 15474517. 

Literature

  • Harley C, Futcher A & Greider C (1990) Telomeres shorten during ageing of human fibroblasts, Nature, 345, 458–460.
  • Wang R, Smogorzewska A & Lange T (2004) Homologous Recombination Generates T-Loop-Sized Deletions at Human Telomeres, Cell, 119, 355–368.
  • Watson J & Shippen D (2007) Telomere Rapid Deletion Regulates Telomere Length in Arabidopsis thaliana, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 27(5), 1706-1715.

External links

* Cell immortality and cancer

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