Stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) is induced 3 days after exposure of human diploid fibroblasts to subcytotoxic oxidative stress with H 2 O 2 , with appearance of several biomarkers of replicative senescence. In this work, we show that transforming growth factor-1 (TGF-1) regulates the induction of several of these biomarkers in SIPS: cellular morphology, senescence-associated -galactosidase activity, increase in the steady-state level of fibronectin, apolipoprotein J, osteonectin, and SM22 mRNA. Indeed, the neutralization of TGF-1 or its receptor (TGF- RII) using specific antibodies decreases sharply the percentage of cells positive for the senescent-associated -galactosidase activity and displaying a senescent morphology. In the presence of each of these antibodies, the steady-state level of fibronectin, osteonectin, apolipoprotein J, and SM22 mRNA is no more increased at 72 h after stress. Results obtained on fibroblasts retrovirally transfected with the human papillomavirus E7 cDNA suggest that retinoblastoma protein (Rb) regulates the expression of TGF-1 in stressful conditions, leading to SIPS and overexpression of these four genes.Normal human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) 1 exposed to various types of noncytotoxic oxidative stress display a senescentlike phenotype coined "stress-induced premature senescence" or SIPS (1, 2). Such stressful conditions include exposure to hydrogen peroxide (3, 4), tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP) (5), hyperoxia (6), UV light (7), and radioactivity (8). Many biomarkers of replicative senescence appear in SIPS: typical cell morphology (5), irreversible growth arrest, lack of response to mitogenic stimuli (4), sharp decrease of the DNA synthesis, and an increase in cells positive for the senescent-associated -galactosidase activity (SA -gal) (9). A long term overexpression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21waf-1 was observed in SIPS induced by H 2 O 2 (10) or t-BHP (9). p21waf-1 inhibits the cyclin D/cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 complexes, leading to hypophosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (Rb). A long term hypophosphorylation of Rb over several weeks was indeed observed in SIPS induced by H 2 O 2 or t-BHP, explaining the block of the cell cycle, through Rb-mediated inhibition of the E 2 F transcription factor (9, 10). Last, several genes overexpressed in senescent HDFs, such as fibronectin, osteonectin, SM22, and apolipoprotein J (clusterin), displayed a similar increase in mRNA level in SIPS induced by t-BHP or H 2 O 2 (9).In different experimental models, an overexpression of either SM22 (11), apolipoprotein J (12), osteonectin (13), or fibronectin (14) is induced by extracellular addition of transforming growth factor-1 (TGF-1). Moreover, incubation of HDFs with TGF-1 triggers the appearance of a senescent-like morphology (15, 16) and growth arrest (17).Two main arguments favor the hypothesis that oxidative stress-induced premature senescence could be triggered by a pRb-mediated TGF-1 overexpression. First, it has been shown that AT...
