Abstract-Diabetic vasculopathy is central to the development of diverse cardiovascular, renal, retinal, and neurological complications of diabetes. We previously demonstrated that growth of endothelial cells on glycated extracellular matrix proteins (collagen and matrigel) results in a significant decrease in cell proliferation. In the present study, we show that early-passage human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) grown on glycated collagen (GC) express hallmarks of premature cell senescence, ie, increase in the proportion of cells expressing senescence-associated -galactosidase activity, apoptotic rate, and p53 and p14 AFR expression, but in contrast to replicative senescence, display neither attrition of telomeres nor decrease in telomerase activity. An increased frequency of prematurely senescent cells was similarly observed in vivo in aortae of young Zucker diabetic rats, compared with lean controls. NO production by HUVECs grown on GC was decreased, despite a 3-fold increase in eNOS expression and was associated with the increased nitrotyrosine-modified proteins. Development of premature senescence of HUVECs on GC could be prevented and reversed by treatments with the peroxynitrite scavenger, ebselen, eNOS intermediate N -hydroxy-L-arginine (NOHA), or superoxide dismutase mimetic Mn-TBAP. Concomitant with the reversal of senescence, ebselen, and NOHA each restored NO production to levels observed with HUVECs grown on unmodified collagen. Our findings indicate that diabetes mellitus in vivo and GC exposure in vitro elicit premature senescence of the vascular endothelium, a process with distinct pathogenetic mechanisms. Premature senescence of the vascular endothelium is hypothesized to be an important contributor to diabetic vasculopathy and a consequence of reduced NO availability, peroxynitrite, and/or superoxide excess. Key Words: telomerase Ⅲ nitric oxide Ⅲ superoxide Ⅲ p53 Ⅲ p14 ARF E ndothelial dysfunction is emerging as a key component in the pathophysiology of diverse cardiovascular abnormalities associated with atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, and aging. 1,2 Increased incidence of apoptotic cell death has been implicated as a hallmark of endothelial dysfunction. 3-5 Molecular triggers of apoptosis in endothelial cells include oxidized LDL, TNF-␣, bacterial lipopolysaccharide, oxidative stress, peroxynitrite, turbulent fluid shear stress, and high glucose, to name a few. 6 -8 Diabetes mellitus has been shown to be associated with a gradual increase in apoptotic death of endothelial cells, 9 suggesting that some clues to vasculopathy may lie in the diabetic microenvironment.In our previous studies of endothelial cells cultured in glycated collagen (GC)-containing gels, we demonstrated a defect in branching angiogenesis, accompanied by a timedependent reduction in the rate of cell proliferation. 10 This latter finding, consistent with the possibility of developing cell senescence, 11 prompted us to explore the expression of other cellular markers of aging. Cellular aging has been ext...