Telomerase rescues the expression levels of keratinocyte growth factor and insulin-like growth factor-II in senescent human fibroblasts.

Changes in expression levels of various cytokines, growth factors, and related genes were examined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in a normal human fibroblast cell strain, TIG-3, along with in vitro aging. The expression levels of KGF and IGF-II were decreased with proliferative aging but not by growth arrest of young cells. In telomere-elongated cells prepared by transfection with human telomerase reverse transcriptase cDNA, high expression levels of these two genes were maintained, suggesting a causal relation between telomere shortening and reduced expression of KGF and IGF-II. The expression level of HGF was high in both growing and growth-arrested young cells but low in both senescent and telomere-elongated cells. The expression levels of follistatin and HB-EGF were high in both young growing and telomere-elongated cells but low in both senescent and growth-arrested young cells, indicating a growth-dependent expression. Expression levels of FGF-1, FGF-2, VEGF, BMP-3, and amphiregulin did not change with proliferative aging, growth arrest of young cells, or telomere elongation and life-span extension.