Abstract
SINCE the demonstration that diploid human fibroblasts have a limited lifespan in culture1,2 and that the lifespan in culture is a function of the age of the donor2,3, many explanations of fibroblast ageing have been offered4. The production of error-containing enzymes by either an ‘error catastrophe’5,6 or somatic mutation has been suggested as one possible cause4,7. Errors in the enzymes which replicate the cellular DNA might have the gross effect of slowing the rate of DNA replication. Here we examine the rate of DNA chain elongation and the distance between DNA synthesis initiation sites in senescent and control fibroblasts by DNA fibre autoradiography.
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