Robert P. Lanza [1]*, Jose B. Cibelli [1], Catherine Blackwell [1], Vincent J. Cristofalo [2], Mary Kay Francis [2], Gabriela M. Baerlocher [3], Jennifer Mak [3], Michael Schertzer [3], Elizabeth A. Chavez [3], Nancy Sawyer [1], Peter M. Lansdorp [3,4], and Michael D. West [1], "Extension of Cell Life-Span and Telomere Length in Animals Cloned from Senescent Somatic Cells," Vol. 288, No. 5466, pp. 665-669, Science (April 28, 2000).
The potential of cloning depends in part on whether the procedure can reverse cellular aging and restore somatic cells to a phenotypically youthful state. Here, we report the birth of six healthy cloned calves derived from populations of senescent donor somatic cells. Nuclear transfer extended the replicative life-span of senescent cells (zero to four population doublings remaining) to greater than 90 population doublings. Early population doubling level complementary DNA-1 (EPC-1, an age-dependent gene) expression in cells from the cloned animals was 3.5- to 5-fold higher than that in cells from age-matched (5 to 10 months old) controls. Southern blot and flow cytometric analyses indicated that the telomeres were also extended beyond those of newborn (less than two weeks old) and age-matched control animals. The ability to regenerate animals and cells may have important implications for medicine and the study of mammalian aging.
1. Advanced Cell Technology, One Innovation Drive, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
2. Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, PA 19096, and the Department of
Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19104,
USA.
3. Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Center, 601 West 10 Avenue,
Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1L3 Canada.
4. Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5 Canada.
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* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rlanza@advancedcell.com