Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Induction and Validation of Cellular Senescence in Primary Human Cells
Published on: June 20, 2018
Delayed induction of telomere instability in normal human fibroblast cells by ionizing radiation
Mitsuaki Ojima1, Hiroki Hamano, Masatoshi Suzuki
1Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology, Course of Life Sciences and Radiation Research, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Japan.
Abstract:
We examined the delayed induction of telomere instability in hTERT-immortalized normal human fibroblast (BJ1-hTERT) cells exposed to X-rays. BJ1-hTERT cells were irradiated with 2 Gy of X-rays, and chromosome aberrations were analyzed 24 hours after irradiation and in the surviving cells 14 days after X-ray exposure. We found that the X-ray-surviving cells showed an increased frequency of chromatid gaps and breaks and chromosome fragments compared to the control cells. Furthermore, centromere- and telomere-FISH revealed that the frequency of telomere loss and duplication significantly increased in surviving cells compared to the control level. Because no induction of telomere abnormality was observed in cells 24 hours after irradiation, X-irradiation might not affect telomeres directly, but it specifically induces delayed telomere instability in normal human fibroblast cells.
Related Concept Videos
Replicative Cell Senescence
Telomeres and Telomerase
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle
Replication in Eukaryotes
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
