Knocking down p53 with siRNA does not affect the overexpression of p21WAF-1 after exposure of IMR-90 hTERT fibroblasts to a sublethal concentration of H2O2 leading to premature senescence.

Premature senescence of IMR-90 human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) expressing telomerase was induced by exposure to sublethal concentration of H(2)O(2), with appearance of several biomarkers of cellular senescence like enlarged cell shape, senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA ss-gal) activity, and cell cycle arrest. The induction of stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) was associated with a transient increase in DNA-binding activity of p53 and an increased expression of p21(WAF-1). p53 small interferent RNA (siRNA) affected the basal level of p21(WAF-1) mRNA but did not affect the overexpression of p21(WAF-1) after stress. This siRNA approach confirms previous results obtained with other methods.