A Persistent Strain of Diploid Fibroblasts23

Abstract

A diploid cell strain developed from rat striated muscle tissue is described. The strain was serially propagated for over 15 months and was subcultured 88 times. At present the cells have undergone more than 380 generations and have increased by a factor known to be greater than 1.9 × 10¹¹⁴. The strain has a generation time estimated to be between 12 and 24 hours and is over 85 percent euploid. Neither progressive cellular “senescence” nor “alteration” of the strain has thus far been observed. The literature on other unusually persistent diploid cell strains is reviewed.