BACKGROUND Senescent cells are well-recognized in the aging/degenerating human disc. Senescent cells are viable, cannot divide, remain metabolically active and accumulate within the disc over time. Molecular analysis of senescent cells in tissue offers a special challenge since there are no cell surface markers for senescence which would let one use fluorescence-activated cell sorting as a meth...

Pedigree genetics and environment modulate the biological process of aging. The permanent and irreversible growth arrest of cell senescence is a central paradigm of aging. Various pathophysiologic pressures such as oxidative stress and mitochondrial injury can also induce senescence. Senescent cells secrete altered levels of growth factors, show increased susceptibility to apoptosis, and associ...

Cellular senescence has been perceived as a barrier against carcinogenesis. However, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) of senescent cells can promote tumorigenesis. Here, we show senescent tumour cells are frequently present in the front region of collective invasion of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), as well as lymphatic channels and metastatic foci of lymph nodes. In in ...

Industrial-scale expansion of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) is often used in clinical trials, and the effect of replicative senescence on MSC functionality is of mechanistic interest. Senescent MSCs exhibit cell-cycle arrest, cellular hypertrophy, and express the senescent marker β-galactosidase. Although both fit and senescent MSCs display intact lung-homing properties in vivo, senescent MS...

A computer simulation model for the heat pump dehumidified air drying for garlic and white mulberry leaves was developed. The Modified Page model was found suitable in describing the drying curves. The computer simulation model was verified against heat pump dehumidified drying data of garlic and white mulberry leaves. The results revealed that drying air temperature and relative humidity influ...

A viroid-like disease causing mosaic leaves and dwarfism was found on mulberry plants in Zhejiang, China. Grafting of stems from infected plants onto healthy plants resulted in the same symptoms on the healthy plants. A circular small RNA (Mmd-v RNA1) was isolated from the infected plant leaves and caused identical symptoms after more than two years. Nucleotide sequencing indicated that the Mmd...

Cellular senescence is a permanent state of cell cycle arrest that protects the organism from tumorigenesis and regulates tissue integrity upon damage and during tissue remodeling. However, accumulation of senescent cells in tissues during aging contributes to age-related pathologies. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms regulating the viability of senescent cells is therefore required. Her...

Postreplicative, "senescent" human fibroblasts were fused to HeLa or to SV-40 transformed human fibroblasts with Sendai virus. DNA synthesis was reinitiated in senescent nuclei in a high proportion of the heterodikaryons. The [3H]thymidine labeling index of senescent fibroblast nuclei in heteropolykaryons was a function of the ratio of HeLa to senescent nuclei.

Senescent cells are present in premalignant lesions and sites of tissue damage and accumulate in tissues with age. In vivo identification, quantification and characterization of senescent cells are challenging tasks that limit our understanding of the role of senescent cells in diseases and aging. Here, we present a new way to precisely quantify and identify senescent cells in tissues on a sing...

Cellular senescence suppresses cancer by preventing the proliferation of damaged cells, but senescent cells can also promote cancer though the pro-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Simvastatin, an HMG-coA reductase inhibitor, is known to attenuate inflammation and prevent certain cancers. Here, we show that simvastatin decreases the SASP of senescent human fibroblas...