Effects of chromosome constitution on growth and longevity of human skin fibroblast cultures.

Employing standardized cell-culture methods, 10 euploid and 22 constitutionally aneuploid human skin fibroblast strains were assessed in triplicate for total growth potential, growth rates, population-doubling times, and cloning. In addition, longitudinal growth rate studies were carried out with otherwise isogenic 45,X and 47,XXX clonal cultures derived from a mosaic parental strain. Growth rates and longevities were cell-strain specific and highly reproducible among sister cultures of a given strain. There was no systematic correlation between chromosome constitution and any of the measured growth parameters. Trisomic as well as monosomic strains showed the same degree of variability with respect to these parameters as did euploid cultures. In particular, 4 trisomy 21 strains were not unusually short-lived, nor were clones with the 47,XXX constitution compared to those with 45,X karyotypes. We therefore conclude that the cumulative number of in vitro doublings preceding senescence of fibroblast-like cells cultured from skin does not differ significantly among cultures derived from humans who have a normal karyotype, trisomy 13, 18, or 21, the 45,X constitution, or various combinations of extra X and Y chromosomes.