Since these mRNA profiles suggested a role of SNEV in the regulation of cell proliferation, the effect of its overexpression was tested. Thereby, a significant extension of the cellular life span was observed, which was not caused by altered telomerase activity or telomere dynamics but rather by enhanced stress resistance. When SNEV overexpressing cells were treated with bleomycin or bleomycin combined with BSO, inducing DNA damage as well as reactive oxygen species, a significantly lower fraction of apoptotic cells was found in comparison to vector control cells. These data suggest that high levels of SNEV might extend the cellular life span by increasing the resistance to stress or by improving the DNA repair capacity of the cells.