Cited by 214Telomeres, Telomerase, and SenescenceCancer-related Molecular PathwaysGenetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms

Senescence as a mode of tumor suppression.

Open access
Sager, R·1991·Environmental Health Perspectives

Abstract

Two independent lines of experimental evidence are presented in support of the hypothesis that senescence is a normal mechanism of tumor suppression, a homeostatic device designed through evolution to limit cell proliferation irreversibly and thereby to protect the organism against cancer. One set of experiments uses normal human foreskin fibroblasts, transfected at early passage with SV40 DNA and subsequently infected with the K-ras virus. If the cells are immortal prior to infection, they become tumorigenic and make large tumors in nude mice, whereas if they are not immortal, though expressing SV40 T-antigen, they make tiny tumors that senesce in the test mouse after as many doublings as similar cells make in culture. This result demonstrates that immortalization is essential for progressive tumor growth in vivo. The second set of experiments demonstrate that normal human mammary epithelial cells can be immortalized by transfection with viral DNA from human papilloma virus 16 or 18, although these viruses have not been associated with breast cancer. The effective immortalization and other premalignant changes induced by human papilloma virus transfection are accompanied by chromosome changes that may contribute to the partially transformed phenotypes. None of the cloned or pooled transfectants have been tumorigenic in the nude mouse assay. Here, too, immortalization is experimentally separable from tumor-forming ability.

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  • The permanence of senescence arrest supports that senescence evolved partly to suppress cancer.

    “The permanence of the senescence growth arrest enforces the idea that the senescence response evolved at least in part to suppress the development of cancer (9).”

    From Aging, Cellular Senescence, and Cancer (2013) · cites this paper as [9]

  • The idea that senescence is tumor suppressive was speculative 50 years ago but became more firmly grounded.

    “Hence, the idea that the senescence response is tumor suppressive, although still speculative 50 years ago, was more firmly grounded (9).”

    From Aging, Cellular Senescence, and Cancer (2013) · cites this paper as [9]

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Authors
Sager, R.
Affiliations
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Sager, R
Venue
Environmental Health Perspectives
Published
1991-06
Volume
93
Pages
59-62
ISSN
  • 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-9924
OpenAlex
W2070012290
Cited by
213
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 6
FWCI
0.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
public-domain
Locations
  • Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r35ca039814-07)
  • National Cancer Institute (CA 39814)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer-related Molecular Pathways
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
Keywords
cellular senescence, tumor suppression, cell immortalization, SV40 T antigen, K-ras oncogene, HPV16, HPV 18, mammary epithelial cells, foreskin fibroblasts, tumorigenicity, chromosomal abnormalities, cancer prevention
MeSH terms
Animals, Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming, Breast, Cell Differentiation, Cell Division, Cell Line, Transformed, Cells, Cultured, DNA-Binding Proteins, Epithelium, Fibroblasts, Genes, Dominant, Humans, Kirsten murine sarcoma virus, Mice, Nude, Neoplasm Transplantation, Neoplasms, Experimental, Oncogene Proteins, Viral, Oncogenes, Genes, ras, Simian virus 40, Transfection, Genes, Tumor Suppressor, Cellular Senescence, Papillomaviridae, Papillomavirus E7 Proteins, Mice

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