Correlation between the donor age and the proliferative lifespan of human peritoneal mesothelial cells in vitro: Is TGF-β1 a link?

In the present study we have examined the relationship between calendar age of the donor and the proliferative lifespan and TGF-β1 production by human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) in culture. The experiments were performed on primary omentum-derived HPMC isolated from patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery. There was an inverse relationship between the calendar age of the tissue donor and the replicative lifespan of HPMC in vitro (n = 49, r = −0.3991, p < 0.005). There was also a positive correlation between the donor’s age and the magnitude of TGF-β1 production by first-passage HPMC (n = 28, r = 0.5400, p < 0.004). In turn, the TGF-β1 levels correlated inversely with the proliferative lifespan of HPMC in vitro (n = 28, r = −0.4671, p < 0.02). These findings indicate that the reduced proliferative capacity of HPMC isolated from older donors may be associated with increased TGF-β1 release, which may, in turn, result from the age-related accumulation of senescent HPMC in the peritoneum.