Identification of p38MAPK‐dependent genes with changed transcript abundance in H2O2‐induced premature senescence of IMR‐90 hTERT human fibroblasts

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Abstract
Premature senescence of IMR‐90 human diploid fibroblasts expressing telomerase (hTERT) establishes after exposure to an acute sublethal concentration of H2O2. We showed herein that p38MAPK was phosphorylated after exposure of IMR‐90 hTERT cells to H2O2. Selective inhibition of p38MAPK activity attenuated the increase in the proportion of cells positive for senescence associated β‐galactosidase activity. We generated a low density DNA array to study gene expression profiles of 240 senescence‐related genes. Using this array, p38MAPK inhibitor and p38MAPK small interferent RNA, we identified several p38MAPK‐target genes differentially expressed in H2O2‐stressed IMR‐90 hTERT fibroblasts.