Correlation of donor age and telomerase activity with in vitro cell growth and replicative potential for dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes

Previous studies suggested telomerase activity as a determinant of cell replicative capacity by delaying cell senescence. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of adopting telomerase activity as a selection criterion for in vitro expanded skin cells before autologous transplantation. Fibroblasts and keratinoctyes were derived from the same consenting patients aged 9-69 years, and cultured separately in serum-supplemented and serum-free media, respectively. Telomerase activity of fresh and cultured cells were measured and correlated with cell growth rate, donor age and passage number. The results showed that telomerase activity and cell growth were independent of donor age for both cell types. Telomerase was expressed in freshly digested epidermis and dermis and continued expressing in vitro. Keratinocytes consistently showed 3-12 folds greater telomerase activity than fibroblast both in vivo and in vitro. Conversely, growth rate for fibroblast exceeded that of keratinocyte. Telomerase activity decreased markedly at Passage 6 for keratinocytes and ceased by Passage 3 for fibroblasts. The decrease or cessation of telomerase activity coincided with senescence for keratinocyte but not for fibroblast, implying a telomerase-regulated cell senescence for the former and hence a predictor of replicative capacity for this cell type. Relative telomerase activity for fibroblasts from the younger age group was significantly higher than that from the older age group; 69.7% higher for fresh isolates and 31.1% higher at P0 (p<0.05). No detectable telomerase activity was to be found at later subcultures for both age groups. Similarly for keratinocytes, telomerase activity in the younger age group was significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to that in the older age group; 507.7% at P0, 36.8% at P3 and the difference was no longer significant at P6. In conclusion, the study provided evidence that telomerase sustained the proliferation of keratinocytes but not fibroblasts. Telomerase activity is an important criterion for continued survival and replication of keratinocytes, hence its positive detection before transplantation is desirable. Inferring from our results, the use of keratinocytes from Passage 3 or lesser for construction of skin substitute or cell-based therapy is recommended owing to their sustained telomerase expression.