GSK3 β Overexpression and Cellular Senescence in the Aging Kidney

Senescent cells accumulate with age, a growing imbalance between pace of creation and pace of clearance. The majority of senescent cells come into being as cells reach the Hayflick limit on replication, and survive for only a short time before succumbing to programmed cell death or immune system activity. But senescent cells can be created by injury, inflammation, and other forms of damage as well. Senescent cells secrete pro-growth, inflammatory signals. This is useful in the short term as a way to help the body clear up damage or potentially cancerous cells, but when sustained over the long term it is highly disruptive to tissue function. A range of research in recent years strongly implicates cellular senescence in age-related kidney dysfunction. There is good evidence for removal of senescent cells to reverse kidney disease. Kidney function is so profoundly vital to health that its loss is damaging to other organs throughout the body, including heart, blood vessels, and brain. Kidney decline alone can drive a systemic fall into more ever more rapid dysfunction and rising mortality in later life, and senescent cells appear to be driving a great deal of this process. In today's open access research materials, researchers discuss the interaction between GSK3β overexpression and cellular senescence in the aging kidney. Suppressing GSK3β expression reduces markers of cellular senescence in the kidney and slows the age-related loss of kidney function. Whether this is a...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs