Proliferative lifespan is conserved after nuclear transfer

Cultured primary cells exhibit a finite proliferative lifespan, termed the Hayflick limit(1). Cloning by nuclear transfer can reverse this cellular ageing process and can be accomplished with cultured cells nearing senescence(2). Here we describe nuclear transfer experiments in which donor cell lines at different ages and with different proliferative capacities were used to clone foetuses and animals from which new primary cell lines were generated. The rederived lines had the same proliferative capacity and rate of telomere shortening as the donor cell lines, suggesting that these are innate, genetically determined, properties that are conserved by nuclear transfer.