More Evidence for Senolytic Therapies as a Treatment for Lung Fibrosis

Research into cellular senescence as a cause of aging and age-related disease has expanded greatly these past few years. Several companies are developing approaches to safely remove these unwanted cells. Very compelling evidence has emerged for the role of senescent cells in aging; a number of research teams have demonstrated reversal of specific measures of aging in various tissues, with one study reporting extended life spans in normal mice in which senescent cells were cleared. The evidence to date is particular interesting in the case of lung conditions, especially those in which inflammation and fibrosis are prominent features. Removing senescent cells from aged mice has been shown to improve lung tissue function and elasticity. Further, senescent cells and their ability to generate inflammation have been strongly implicated in the pathology of fibrotic, inflammatory lung conditions such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Senescent cells accumulate with age, a small lingering remnant population of the vast number of cells that every day become senescent and then self-destruct or are destroyed by the immune system. Tissues have a two-tier hierarchy of cells: the vast majority of somatic cells that can only divide a limited number of times before becoming senescent, and the small number of stem cells that can self-renew themselves over the course of a lifetime, and which act as a source of new somatic cells. In most tissues the somatic cell population turns over cons...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs