Impaired immune surveillance accelerates accumulation of senescent cells and aging.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30575733.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-07825-3 and PMC identifier 6303397.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Cellular senescence is a stress response that imposes stable cell-cycle arrest in damaged cells, preventing their propagation in tissues. However, senescent cells accumulate in tissues in advanced age, where they might promote tissue degeneration and malignant transformation. The extent of immune-system involvement in regulating age-related accumulation of senescent cells, and its consequences, are unknown. Here we show that Prf1<sup>-/-</sup> mice with impaired cell cytotoxicity exhibit both higher senescent-cell tissue burden and chronic inflammation. They suffer from multiple age-related disorders and lower survival. Strikingly, pharmacological elimination of senescent-cells by ABT-737 partially alleviates accelerated aging phenotype in these mice. In LMNA<sup>+/G609G</sup> progeroid mice, impaired cell cytotoxicity further promotes senescent-cell accumulation and shortens lifespan. ABT-737 administration during the second half of life of these progeroid mice abrogates senescence signature and increases median survival. Our findings shed new light on mechanisms governing senescent-cell presence in aging, and could motivate new strategies for regenerative medicine.
Medical subject headings
- Cellular Senescence
- Immunosenescence
- Perforin