Video 4. Senescent human Schwann cell (hSC) cultures.

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The cells were plated in HP medium and recorded via IncuCyte ZOOM^TM every 20 min. Notice that senescent hSCs are highly viable and migratory but fail to efficiently expand in number despite the presence of heregulin and forskolin. The appearance of vacuoles (seen clearly at the onset), the expanded cytoplasm, and the lack of cell-cell alignment are morphological evidence of senescence. However, senescence is defined by the lack of proliferation and should be confirmed with appropriate assays. The senescent phenotype is irreversible. Some relevant elements were highlighted in the video. For a reference, compare this video with Video 2, featuring a highly proliferative hSC culture.