Histochemical assessment of nuclear protein content and enzyme activity in confluent nonarrested and low-serum arrested WI-38 fibroblasts at mid and late population doubling levels

Abstract

Cultures of WI-38 fibroblasts maintained in low-serum medium have little mitotic activity. Such arrested cultures can serve as a useful adjunct to the normal-serum proliferating fibroblast model system of senescence since the reduced cycling activity more accurately reflects in vivo conditions. Normal-serum plateau phase cultures and 17-day low-serum arrested plateau phase cultures were examined at both mid and late population doubling levels (PDL). Acidic, basic and total nuclear protein contents were determined by staining with toluidine blue O, alkaline fast green and acid fast green, respectively. Succinate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were localized with the nitroblue tetrazolium staining reaction. Quantification of individual cell staining was done on a Vickers M85 microdensitometer. Low-serum arrested cells at both mid and late PDL showed a significant increase in acidic protein staining and a decrease in basic protein staining when compared with normal-serum nonarrested cells. Enzyme activities in arrested cells were lower than nonarrested cells at mid PDL but equivalent to nonarrested cells at late PDL. This study demonstrates that the use of selected quantitative histochemical staining in combination with cytophotometry can be employed to differentiate arrested from nonarrested fibroblast populations as well as mid PDL from late PDL cultures.