Quantitative analysis of cellular senescence phenotypes using an imaging cytometer.

Until now, various stimuli as well as serial passaging have been known to induce cellular senescence in normal human diploid fibroblasts. However, in many cases, we have encountered difficulty in quantitatively analyzing the cellular senescence phenotypes of senescent cells in a physiological condition. High-content screening (HCS)-based image analysis is becoming an important and powerful research tool. In the present study, an automated and quantitative cellular image-analysis system was employed to quantify the cellular senescence phenotypes induced in normal human diploid fibroblasts, TIG-1 cells, and found to be a powerful tool in the cellular senescence study.