Autophagy is associated with survival and resiliency of fibroblasts in long-term decaying post-mortem parenchymal tissue

Fibroblasts are spindle-shaped mesenchymal cells and an abundantly studied cell type that are easy to culture. Their adaptive response in culture conditions allows for use in many different cell biological experiments, including their utility in generating induced pluripotent stem cells. Despite extensive use of fibroblasts in cell and molecular biology and genetics experiments, fundamental evaluation of their resiliency and survival programs, in comparison with other cell types, is undetermined. Here, we demonstrate that fibroblasts exhibit remarkable survival capacity in post-mortem tissue decaying at room temperature and can be cultured from ear, tail tips, kidney, lung, fetal, and mammary tumor tissue after 12-hours of post-mortem tissue decay. Fibroblasts can be cultured from ear and lung tissue after 24-hours, and from ear after up to 120-hours of post-mortem tissue decay. Gene expression profiling of post-mortem lung tissue fibroblasts compared to fresh tissue cultured fibroblasts suggested a transition to a more quiescent phenotype with activation of nutrient scavenging pathways as evidenced by downregulation of genes associated with DNA replication, ribosomes, cell cycle, and spliceosomes as well as upregulation of genes associated metabolism, autophagy, and lysosomes. Measurement of light chain 3B (LC3B)-I/LC3B-II ratio and lysosomal-associated membrane protein (LAMP)-1 indicate that autophagy is increased in post-mortem fibroblasts, with evidence for potential increase in autolysosomes and senescence program. Our study provides evidence for the ability of normal fibroblasts to overcome extreme stress conditions and offers new insights into cell survival mechanisms and aging, with potential utility in tissue regeneration and repair.