Cells become senescent constantly, ceasing to replicate and generating inflammatory signaling. This occurs when cells reach the Hayflick limit on replication, and in response to damage, injury, and toxicity. Senescence helps to draw the attention of the immune system to where it is needed, and in youth senescent cells are efficiently destroyed by immune cells once that task is accomplished. With age, however, the immune system becomes progressively less efficient while the environment becomes more damaged. As a consequence a burden of lingering senescent cells grows over time, and their …
Recent Progress Towards Measures of the Burden of Cellular Senescence
Cells become senescent constantly, ceasing to replicate and generating inflammatory signaling. This occurs when cells reach the Hayflick limit on replication, and in response to damage, injury, and toxicity. Senescence helps to draw the attention of the immune system to where it is needed, and in youth senescent cells are efficiently destroyed by immune cells once that task is accomplished. With age, however, the immune system becomes progressively less efficient while the environment becomes more damaged. As a consequence a burden of lingering senescent cells grows over time, and their …