Reinitiation of growth in senescent mouse mammary epithelium in response to cholera toxin.

Several lines of mouse mammary tissue that had been serially transplanted until mitotic senescence was reached were exposed in vivo to plastic implants that slowly released cholera toxin. Gland tissue surrounding the implants displayed new end buds, indicating reinitiation of growth and morphogenesis. The ability of cholera toxin, which elevates intracellular adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate, to temporarily reverse the senescent phenotype suggests that this mitotic dysfunction results not from generalized cellular deterioration but from specific changes in cell regulation.