Effects of the Incorporation of p-Fluorophenylalanine on the in Vitro Lifespan of Human Diploid Cells

Abstract

Summary

Normal human diploid fibro-blast-like cells were grown for 6 days in the presence of 175 μM p-fluorophenylalanine. Treated cultures exhibited elevated levels of heat-labile glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase as compared to controls. When fresh growth medium without the analog was added to treated cultures, however, these cells achieved as many population doublings as untreated controls. Thus, the prediction of the error catastrophe theory of aging that a pulse of amino acid analog should induce premature senescence could not be demonstrated in cultured human cells.