It is Plausible that Continual Removal of Senescence Cells Would Impair Regeneration and Limit Benefits to Life Span

The accumulation of senescent cells with advancing age is harmful. Selectively destroying those cells, even as few as a third of them, and even just once in later life, produces significant benefits to health and life span in mice. Cells become senescent in response to molecular damage, or to the signaling of nearby senescent cells, or on reaching the Hayflick limit on cell replication, or in response to tissue injury. In youth, senescent cells are rapidly clearly by the immune system and programmed cell death, but in later life the balance of creation and destruction is tipped towards an ever-increasing number of such cells. Senescent cells serve useful functions prior to running awry in old age. They help to coordinate regeneration and suppress the incidence cancer. They secrete signals that attract the attention of the immune system, spur growth, and provoke the short-term inflammation needed to resolve issues of damage in the body. Thus we might suspect that a blanket and continual removal of senescent cells could be harmful in some ways. In fact, mice do live longer when all senescent cells are continually removed, but that may only mean that the beneficial outcomes outweigh the negative outcomes, rather than there being no meaningful negative outcomes. The present consensus is that periodic removal of senescent cells, which does produce rejuvenation and extend life span in mice, likely has no meaningful downside. It would clear out the problem lingering ce...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs