Meeting Abstract

39.4  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Fibroblasts from Long-Lived Bird Species are Resistant to Multiple Forms of Stress WILLIAMS, J.B.*; MILLER, R.A.; HARPER, J.M.; RO, J.; WANG, M.; Ohio State University williams.1020@osu.edu

Primary fibroblast cultures were established from 35 species of free-living birds, and tested in culture for resistance to multiple forms of cellular stress. Cell lines from longer-lived bird species were found to be resistant to death caused by cadmium, paraquat, hydrogen peroxide, and methyl methanesulfonate, as well as to the metabolic inhibition seen in low-glucose medium, but did not differ in resistance to UV light, or to thapsigargin or tunicamycin, inducers of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Cell lines from longer-lived bird species also proliferation more rapidly, over periods of 5 to 9 days, than cells from short-lived birds. Bird cell lines were more resistant than rodent fibroblasts to most of the tested stressors, though not to the inducers of UPR stress. These results support the idea that cellular resistance to injury may be an important contributor to evolution of slow aging and long lifespan among bird species, and may contribute to the relatively long lifespan of birds as compared to rodents of the same size.