Metabolic Disorders Increase the Burden of Cellular Senescence

Why do patients with metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes exhibit what appears to be an accelerated progression of aging, such as increased risk of disease, shorter life expectancy, and so forth? One increasingly well established candidate mechanism is the presence of a greater burden of senescent cells, these cells generating chronic inflammation and harmful alterations to the behavior of other cells via their secretions. Senolytic therapies to clear these senescent cells may prove to be a first step towards decoupling obesity from the consequences of obesity, but there are numerous other ways in which excess fat tissue or a dysfunctional, diabetic metabolism can provoke chronic inflammation and dysfunction of organs and bodily systems. Cellular senescence is generally driven by aging and is strongly associated with age-related disorders. It promotes the common age-associated phenotypes of reduced number of functional cells and size of tissues/organs, increased fibrosis, inflammation, and accumulation of cells with genetic defects. However, other disorders such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity, and NAFLD/NASH are also characterized by increased cellular senescence in metabolic cells. Aged tissues are characterized by dysfunctional cells and increased inflammation, and both progenitor cells and mature, fully differentiated and nonproliferating cells are afflicted. Recent studies have shown that hyperinsulinemia and associated insulin resist...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs