Rising from the ashes: cellular senescence in regeneration

• Published in: Current opinion in genetics & development 2020-10, Vol.64, p.94-100
• Main Authors: Walters, Hannah E, Yun, Maximina H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0959-437X; 1879-0380
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2020.06.002

Cellular senescence has recently become causally implicated in pathological ageing. Hence, a great deal of research is currently dedicated towards developing senolytic agents to selectively kill senescent cells. However, senescence also plays important roles in a range of physiological processes including during organismal development, providing a barrier to tumorigenesis and in limiting fibrosis. Recent evidence also suggests a role for senescence in coordinating tissue remodelling and in the regeneration of complex structures. Through its non-cell-autonomous effects, a transient induction of senescence may create a permissive environment for remodelling or regeneration through promoting local proliferation, cell plasticity, tissue patterning, balancing growth, or indirectly through finely tuned interactions with infiltrating immune mediators. A careful analysis of the beneficial roles of cellular senescence may provide insights into important physiological processes as well as informing strategies to counteract its detrimental consequences in ageing and disease.