Inhibiting the NLRP1 Inflammasome Reduces the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype

A sizable portion of the chronic inflammation of aging is produced by the growing presence of senescent cells in tissues throughout the body. Senescent cells secrete a mix of pro-growth, pro-inflammatory signals (the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, SASP), useful when present in the short-term in the context of wound healing and suppression of cancer risk resulting from cell damage. When sustained over the long-term, however, this signaling becomes highly disruptive to tissue structure and function. The inflammatory mechanisms inside senescent cells that produce pro-inflammatory components of the SASP include the same mechanisms that operate in normal cells in response to inflammatory stimuli. It is therefore possible that targeted inhibition of regulatory genes and proteins could reduce the SASP. Today's open access paper is one example of many lines of work that aim to understand how exactly the inflammatory component of the SASP arises. The authors identify the NLRP1 inflammasome as important, as inhibition diminishes the SASP. When it comes to new approaches to suppress inflammation, a great many groups are looking at inflammasomes in cells as a potential point of intervention. It is an open question as to whether this is going to be any better in practice than existing approaches (such as TNF inhibitors) that target important pro-inflammatory signal molecules. The problem with suppressing a target of this nature is that it disrupts desirable, short-term ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs