title: Biomarkers to identify and isolate senescent cells.
abstract: Aging is the main risk factor for many degenerative diseases and declining health. Senescent cells are part of the underlying mechanism for time-dependent tissue dysfunction. These cells can negatively affect neighbouring cells through an altered secretory phenotype: the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The SASP induces senescence in healthy cells, promotes tumour formation and progression, and contributes to other age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, immune-senescence and neurodegeneration. Removal of senescent cells was recently demonstrated to delay age-related degeneration and extend lifespan. To better understand cell aging and to reap the benefits of senescent cell removal, it is necessary to have a reliable biomarker to identify these cells. Following an introduction to cellular senescence, we discuss several classes of biomarkers in the context of their utility in identifying and/or removing senescent cells from tissues. Although senescence can be induced by a variety of stimuli, senescent cells share some characteristics that enable their identification both in vitro and in vivo. Nevertheless, it may prove difficult to identify a single biomarker capable of distinguishing senescence in all cell types. Therefore, this will not be a comprehensive review of all senescence biomarkers but rather an outlook on technologies and markers that are most suitable to identify and isolate senescent cells.
authors.affiliation: Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, England, UK.
authors.forename: Mantas
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matjusaitis
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Ethan Anders
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Sarnoski
authors.affiliation: Institute IZBI, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Loughborough University, Loughborough, England, UK. Electronic address: A.Stolzing@lboro.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stolzing
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Aging; Biomarkers; Cell biology; Senescence