scholarly journals Targeting Senescent Cells to Counter Aging and Aging-Related Conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 818-818
Author(s):  
Nathan LeBrasseur

Abstract In response to various forms of age-associated damage, cells can enter a state of senescence. Senescent cells can compromise the health and function of a tissue, and their accumulation with advancing age is believed to contribute to age-related diseases and geriatric syndromes. In preclinical models (i.e., mice), selective elimination of senescent cells through either genetic approaches or a new class of pharmacological agents, termed “senolytics”, has been show to effectively delay, prevent, or reverse the onset and/or progression of pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, cognitive decline, and several other conditions. Thus, considerable efforts are underway to optimize pharmacological strategies and test their effectiveness in human populations. This seminar will highlight the state-of-the-science of senolytic drugs, and the opportunities and challenges for early phase clinical trials in humans.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S745-S745
Author(s):  
Nathan LeBrasseur

Abstract Diverse forms of molecular and cellular stress trigger senescence, a state of growth arrest in proliferation-competent cells that is often accompanied by a robust secretory phenotype. Senescent cell burden increases with age in multiple tissues and, plausibly, contributes to the pathogenesis of age-related diseases and geriatric syndromes. Discovery science efforts have identified druggable targets in senescent cells, including key nodes in anti-apoptosis pathways, that distinguish them from non-senescent counterparts and enable pharmacological approaches for their selective elimination. The therapeutic potential of senolytic interventions to improve health- and lifespan has been supported by translational research studies, including murine models of aging, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, neurodegeneration, pulmonary fibrosis, and frailty. These studies have informed the design of first-in-human clinical trials of senolytic drugs, which have recently begun. The objective of this lecture is to highlight both the progress and challenges of advancing interventions targeting senescent cells from bench to bedside.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 697
Author(s):  
Kenneth K. Wu

Cellular senescence contributes to aging and age-related disorders. High glucose (HG) induces mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSC) senescence, which hampers cell expansion and impairs MSC function. Intracellular HG triggers metabolic shift from aerobic glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation, resulting in reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction. It causes mitochondrial dysfunction and morphological changes. Tryptophan metabolites such as 5-methoxytryptophan (5-MTP) and melatonin attenuate HG-induced MSC senescence by protecting mitochondrial integrity and function and reducing ROS generation. They upregulate the expression of antioxidant enzymes. Both metabolites inhibit stress-induced MSC senescence by blocking p38 MAPK signaling pathway, NF-κB, and p300 histone acetyltransferase activity. Furthermore, melatonin upregulates SIRT-1, which reduces NF-κB activity by de-acetylation of NF-κB subunits. Melatonin and 5-MTP are a new class of metabolites protecting MSCs against replicative and stress-induced cellular senescence. They provide new strategies to improve the efficiency of MSC-based therapy for diverse human diseases.


Author(s):  
Marc Vanhove ◽  
Jean-Marc Wagner ◽  
Bernard Noppen ◽  
Bart Jonckx ◽  
Elke Vermassen ◽  
...  

AbstractIntravitreal (IVT) injection remains the preferred administration route of pharmacological agents intended for the treatment of back of the eye diseases such as diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD). The procedure enables drugs to be delivered locally at high concentrations whilst limiting whole body exposure and associated risk of systemic adverse events. Nevertheless, intravitreally-delivered drugs do enter the general circulation and achieving an accurate understanding of systemic exposure is pivotal for the evaluation and development of drugs administered in the eye. We report here the full pharmacokinetic properties of THR-687, a pan RGD integrin antagonist currently in clinical development for the treatment of DME, in both rabbit and minipig. Pharmacokinetic characterization included description of vitreal elimination, of systemic pharmacokinetics, and of systemic exposure following IVT administration. For the latter, we present a novel pharmacokinetic model that assumes clear partition between the vitreous humor compartment itself where the drug is administered and the central systemic compartment. We also propose an analytical solution to the system of differential equations that represent the pharmacokinetic model, thereby allowing data analysis with standard nonlinear regression analysis. The model accurately describes circulating levels of THR-687 following IVT administration in relevant animal models, and we suggest that this approach is relevant to a range of drugs and analysis of subsequent systemic exposure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Börsch ◽  
Daniel J. Ham ◽  
Nitish Mittal ◽  
Lionel A. Tintignac ◽  
Eugenia Migliavacca ◽  
...  

AbstractSarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, affects 5–13% of individuals aged over 60 years. While rodents are widely-used model organisms, which aspects of sarcopenia are recapitulated in different animal models is unknown. Here we generated a time series of phenotypic measurements and RNA sequencing data in mouse gastrocnemius muscle and analyzed them alongside analogous data from rats and humans. We found that rodents recapitulate mitochondrial changes observed in human sarcopenia, while inflammatory responses are conserved at pathway but not gene level. Perturbations in the extracellular matrix are shared by rats, while mice recapitulate changes in RNA processing and autophagy. We inferred transcription regulators of early and late transcriptome changes, which could be targeted therapeutically. Our study demonstrates that phenotypic measurements, such as muscle mass, are better indicators of muscle health than chronological age and should be considered when analyzing aging-related molecular data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 829-829
Author(s):  
Nathan LeBrasseur

Abstract Dynamic measures of physical resilience—the ability to resist and recover from a challenge—may be informative of biological age far prior to overt manifestations such as age-related diseases and geriatric syndromes (i.e., frailty). If true, physical resilience at younger or middle ages may be predictive of future healthspan and lifespan, and provide a unique paradigm in which interventions targeting the fundamental biology of aging can be tested. This seminar will discuss research on the development of clinically-relevant measures of physical resilience in mice, including anesthesia, surgery, and cytotoxic drugs. It will further highlight how these measures compare between young, middle-aged, and older mice, and how mid-life resilience relates to later-life healthspan. Finally, it will provide insight into whether interventions targeting the biology of aging can modify physical resilience in mice. Part of a symposium sponsored by Epidemiology of Aging Interest Group.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073346482110065
Author(s):  
Ming-Hsiu Chiang ◽  
Yi-Jie Kuo ◽  
Yu-Pin Chen

Hip fracture is a serious clinical event with high morbidity and mortality. Sarcopenia is characterized by age-related loss of muscle mass and function, leading to several adverse health outcomes. In this systematic review, no limitation criteria were used for study selection and 327 studies were identified in the initial search. Of these, 11 studies comprising a total of 2,314 patients were selected. The overall proportion of older adults with hip fracture having sarcopenia was 44%, with a disparity of approximately 10% between men and women. Most studies have indicated that older adults with sarcopenia had poorer postoperative functional recovery than those without sarcopenia; the association between sarcopenia and high postoperative mortality or long hospital stay was heterogeneous. Well-organized studies with longer follow-up periods are warranted.


Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 253
Author(s):  
Graciela Gavia-García ◽  
Juana Rosado-Pérez ◽  
Taide Laurita Arista-Ugalde ◽  
Itzen Aguiñiga-Sánchez ◽  
Edelmiro Santiago-Osorio ◽  
...  

A great amount of scientific evidence supports that Oxidative Stress (OxS) can contribute to telomeric attrition and also plays an important role in the development of certain age-related diseases, among them the metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is characterised by clinical and biochemical alterations such as obesity, dyslipidaemia, arterial hypertension, hyperglycaemia, and insulin resistance, all of which are considered as risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases, which are associated in turn with an increase of OxS. In this sense, we review scientific evidence that supports the association between OxS with telomere length (TL) dynamics and the relationship with MetS components in aging. It was analysed whether each MetS component affects the telomere length separately or if they all affect it together. Likewise, this review provides a summary of the structure and function of telomeres and telomerase, the mechanisms of telomeric DNA repair, how telomere length may influence the fate of cells or be linked to inflammation and the development of age-related diseases, and finally, how the lifestyles can affect telomere length.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly B. Menees ◽  
Rachael H. Earls ◽  
Jaegwon Chung ◽  
Janna Jernigan ◽  
Nikolay M. Filipov ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Physiological homeostasis decline, immunosenescence, and increased risk for multiple diseases, including neurodegeneration, are all hallmarks of ageing. Importantly, it is known that the ageing process is sex-biased. For example, there are sex differences in predisposition for multiple age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. However, sex differences in age-associated immune phenotypes are not clearly understood. Results Here, we examined the effects of age on immune cell phenotypes in both sexes of C57BL/6J mice with a particular focus on NK cells. We found female-specific spleen weight increases with age and concordant reduction in the number of splenocytes per gram of spleen weight compared to young females. To evaluate sex- and age-associated changes in splenic immune cell composition, we performed flow cytometry analysis. In male mice, we observed an age-associated reduction in the frequencies of monocytes and NK cells; female mice displayed a reduction in B cells, NK cells, and CD8 + T cells and increased frequency of monocytes and neutrophils with age. We then performed a whole blood stimulation assay and multiplex analyses of plasma cytokines and observed age- and sex-specific differences in immune cell reactivity and basal circulating cytokine concentrations. As we have previously illustrated a potential role of NK cells in Parkinson’s disease, an age-related neurodegenerative disease, we further analyzed age-associated changes in NK cell phenotypes and function. There were distinct differences between the sexes in age-associated changes in the expression of NK cell receptors, IFN-γ production, and impairment of α-synuclein endocytosis. Conclusions This study demonstrates sex- and age-specific alterations in splenic lymphocyte composition, circulating cytokine/chemokine profiles, and NK cell phenotype and effector functions. Our data provide evidence that age-related physiological perturbations differ between the sexes which may help elucidate sex differences in age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s disease, where immune dysfunction is implicated in their etiology.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wassim Fhayli ◽  
Quentin Boëté ◽  
Nadjib Kihal ◽  
Valérie Cenizo ◽  
Pascal Sommer ◽  
...  

Elastic fibers (90% elastin, 10% fibrillin-rich microfibrils) are synthesized only in early life and adolescence mainly by the vascular smooth muscle cells through the cross-linking of its soluble precursor, tropoelastin. Elastic fibers endow the large elastic arteries with resilience and elasticity. Normal vascular aging is associated with arterial remodeling and stiffening, especially due to the end of production and degradation of elastic fibers, leading to altered cardiovascular function. Several pharmacological treatments stimulate the production of elastin and elastic fibers. In particular, dill extract (DE) has been demonstrated to stimulate elastin production in vitro in dermal equivalent models and in skin fibroblasts to increase lysyl oxidase–like-1 (LOXL-1) gene expression, an enzyme contributing to tropoelastin crosslinking and elastin formation. Here, we have investigated the effects of a chronic treatment (three months) of aged male mice with DE (5% or 10% v/v, in drinking water) on the structure and function of the ascending aorta. DE treatment, especially at 10%, of aged mice protected pre-existing elastic lamellae, reactivated tropoelastin and LOXL-1 expressions, induced elastic fiber neo-synthesis, and decreased the stiffness of the aging aortic wall, probably explaining the reversal of the age-related cardiac hypertrophy also observed following the treatment. DE could thus be considered as an anti-aging product for the cardiovascular system.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Cvecka ◽  
Veronika Tirpakova ◽  
Milan Sedliak ◽  
Helmut Kern ◽  
Winfried Mayr ◽  
...  

Aging is a multifactorial irreversible process associated with significant decline in muscle mass and neuromuscular functions. One of the most efficient methods to counteract age-related changes in muscle mass and function is physical exercise. An alternative effective intervention to improve muscle structure and performance is electrical stimulation. In the present work we present the positive effects of physical activity in elderly and a study where the effects of a 8-week period of functional electrical stimulation and strength training with proprioceptive stimulation in elderly are compared.


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