Are Senescent Cells an Important Cause of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Pathology?

Raised levels of senescent cells are found in the liver of patients and animal models exhibiting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which progresses to the more serious nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). These conditions are a consequence of obesity, which is also correlated with a higher burden of senescent cells throughout the body, and particularly in fat deposits. Senescent cells secrete signals that provoke chronic inflammation and disrupt tissue structure and function. They are an important contributing cause of aging and age-related disease. In this sense, we might think of many of the consequences of obesity as literally accelerated aging. In conditions like NAFLD and NASH, however, it is less clear that senescence is a major cause of pathology, versus being a downstream consequence that produces further harms. That will most likely be settled by studies and trials in which animals and patients are given senolytic drugs to clear senescent cells; any major improvement or prevention will argue for an important role for senescent cells in this condition.

Data from studies in rodents and humans have shown that NAFLD is accompanied by an increase in senescent cells in the liver, and that the number of senescent cells is associated with a more advanced disease state. Despite the strong associations between senescence and NAFLD in humans and the work derived from in vitro studies and rodents, it remains to be determined if hepatic senescence is a mere cons...

Source: Fight Aging! - June 29, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs