Cellular Senescence in Lung Fibrosis

Senescent cells accumulate in tissues throughout the body with age. The produce inflammatory sections that actively maintain a disrupted state of tissue maintenance, structure, and function. Targeted removal of senescent cells has produced rejuvenation in mice, reversal of measures of aging and the progression of numerous age-related conditions. One of the ways in which tissue is affected by senescent cells is the development of fibrosis, a malfunction of tissue maintenance that leads to the inappropriate deposition of scar-like structures and consequent loss of function. This occurs in numerous organs with age, notably the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs. One of the first conditions to show improvement as a result of treatments producing senescent cell clearance was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Human trials have shown initially promising results, and are presently ongoing. In today's open access paper, the authors discuss in some detail the role of cellular senescence in the development of lung fibrosis, a pathology with no good, established treatment options at the present time. The prospect of a viable therapy for this and other forms of fibrosis based on targeted destruction of senescent cells is encouraging a great deal of interest and activity in the research community. Cellular Senescence in Lung Fibrosis Fibrosis and wound healing are essentially interwoven processes, driven by a cascade of injury, inflammation, fibroblast proliferation and m...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs