What Else can be Achieved with Better Control of Senescent Cells?

At the present time, the main focus of therapeutic development involving senescent cells is the safe, selective destruction of as many such cells as possible. The accumulation of senescent cells is an important cause of aging and age-related pathology, and removing even just a quarter or a half of them - and in only some organs and tissues - has been shown to significantly extend life and improve health in mice. The first human trials are underway and the results will be published over the next year or so. While senescent cells do a good job of accelerating our demise, it is undeniably the case that these cells also serve quite useful purposes for a short time after their creation. They exist for a reason, and the problem is not their existence per se, but that they are not removed efficiently enough after the job of the moment is accomplished. Senescence cells secrete a potent mix of signals that is well adapted for those tasks, but if allowed to continue for the long term, this signaling is highly disruptive of tissue structure and organ function. Cellular senescence as a process serves to help define the shape of tissues during embryonic development, but in adult life its primary positive roles involve suppression of cancer and guidance of wound healing. Since cells become senescent in response to damage, such as the mutational damage to DNA that can lead to cancer, countless potential cancers are avoided because the cells involved enter a senescent state in ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs