THE 'TRANSITION PROBABILITY MODEL' AND THE REGULATION OF PROLIFERATION OF HUMAN DIPLOID CELL CULTURES DURING AGING

Genealogies derived from time-lapse cinemicrophotographic studies of aging human diploid cell cultures were analysed in terms of the ‘transition probability’ model. It was found that the distribution of intermitotic times obtained from middle passage cells deviated only slightly from that predicted by the model. In contrast, the plot for late passage cultures did not fit the predicted pattern and appeared to be composed of multiple curves. These changes are discussed in reference to cellular senescence as expressed by normal human diploid cells in vitro.