Reclassifying Cellular Senescence into Two Main Types

Persistent activation of the DNA-damage response (DDR) can trigger cells to undergo cellular senescence, a state of irreversible, immune evoking, growth arrest.  In such a way, cellular senescence can prevent tumourigenesis firstly by blocking cells from replicating and producing abnormal and potentially cancerous daughter cells and secondly by coordinating their removal by immune cells.  Additionally, senescent cells can aid tissue repair by preventing extensive cellular proliferation leading to fibrosis, possibly triggered by replication stressed-induced DNA damage.  However, if this orchestrated removal of senescent cells becomes dysregulated, then persistent senescent cells can promote tumourigenesis and tissue damage.

An aspect of the DDR in senescent cells is the induction of an array of secretory factors, including cytokines/chemokine’s, which are important in attracting/activating immune cells to their vicinity.  When immune cells reach the locality of senescent cells, they can then specifically recognize them by the expression of immune ligands on the cell membrane, a process that may also be regulated primarily by the DDR.  The specific ligands recognized and the mechanism of senescent cell death will then be dependent upon the type of immune cell interacting with the senescent cell. 

However, cells induced to undergo permanent growth arrest in vitro by the overexpression of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor p16ink4a, do not develop an immune evoking secretory phenotype until the addition of DNA damage.   If cells in physiological or pathological conditions can indeed undergo permanent cell cycle arrest in a p16 dependent, DDR-independent manner, then these cells are unlikely to evoke an immune response for their clearance.  In support of this, a recent study demonstrated that cells overexpressing p14(ARF) in the epidermis of mice remained present for weeks after transgene silencing (Tokarsky-Amiel et al 2013).  Even if p16-induced senescent cells do not display a pro-inflammatory phenotype, they can still cause physiological problems simply by their inability to proliferate, an essential feature required for tissue regeneration and maintenance.  In this regard, the growth arrest and pro-inflammatory phenotype of senescent cells can be investigated separately to determine which feature is important in different physiological contexts. 

Until the phenotype of p16-induced senescent cells in vivo have been researched more extensively, cellular senescence could be divided into two separate types.  Firstly, immunogenic senescence related to a DNA damage response, consisting of a pro-inflammatory phenotype and the presence of immune ligands, triggered by telomere shortening, oncogene-activation, and chemical stressors.  Secondly, sterile senescence which lacks a pro-inflammatory phenotype and the inability to evoke an immune response. 

If this distinction is made, then studies focused on the effect of cellular senescence on ageing, disease and cancer development can better design their experiments and avoid confusion between conflicting results due to differences in the types of senescence used.  

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NF90 coordinately represses the senescence-associated secretory phenotype

Abstract

A hallmark trait of cellular senescence is the acquisition of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SASP factors include cytokines and their receptors (IL-6, IL-8, osteoprotegerin, GM-CSF), chemokines and their ligands (MCP-1, HCC4), and oncogenes (Gro1 and Gro2), many of them encoded by mRNAs whose stability and translation are tightly regulated. Using two models of human fibroblast senescence (WI-38 and IDH4 cells), we report the identification of RNA-binding protein NF90 as a post-transcriptional repressor of several SASP factors. In ‘young', proliferating fibroblasts, NF90 was highly abundant, associated with numerous SASP mRNAs, and inhibited their expression. By contrast, senescent cells expressed low levels of NF90, thus allowing SASP factor expression to increase. NF90 elicited these effects mainly by repressing the translation of target SASP mRNAs, since silencing NF90 did not increase the steady-state levels of SASP mRNAs but elevated key SASP factors including MCP-1, GROa, IL-6, and IL-8. Our findings indicate that NF90 contributes to maintaining low levels of SASP factors in non-senescent cells, while NF90 reduction in senescent cells allows SASP factor expression to rise.

http://www.impactaging.com/papers/v4/n10/abs/100497a.html

Targeted Cargo Delivery in Senescent Cells Using Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

Abstract

Intracellular controlled release of molecules within senescent cells was achieved using mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSNs) capped with a galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) to contain the cargo molecules (magenta spheres; see scheme). The GOS is a substrate of the senescent biomarker, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), and releases the cargo upon entry into SA-β-gal expressing cells.

Link: http://1.usa.gov/TFDGVS 

Cell-penetrating superoxide dismutase attenuates oxidative stress-induced senescence by regulating the p53-p21Cip1 pathway and restores osteoblastic differentiation in human dental pulp stem cells

Abstract

Background

Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have potential applications in tissue regeneration because of their convenient cell harvesting procedures and multipotent capacity. However, the tissue regenerative potential of DPSCs is known to be negatively regulated by aging in long-term culture and under oxidative stress. With an aim of reducing cellular senescence and oxidative stress in DPSCs, an intracellular delivery system for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) was developed. We conjugated SOD1 with a cell-penetrating peptide known as low-molecular weight protamine (LMWP), and investigated the effect of LMWP-SOD1 conjugates on hydrogen peroxide-induced cellular senescence and osteoblastic differentiation.

Results

LMWP-SOD1 significantly attenuated enlarged and flattened cell morphology and increased senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity. Under the same conditions, LMWP-SOD1 abolished activation of the cell cycle regulator proteins, p53 and p21^Cip1, induced by hydrogen peroxide. In addition, LMWP-SOD1 reversed the inhibition of osteoblastic differentiation and downregulation of osteogenic gene markers induced by hydrogen peroxide. However, LMWP-SOD1 could not reverse the decrease in odontogenesis caused by hydrogen peroxide.

Conclusion

Overall, cell-penetrating LMWP-SOD1 conjugates are effective for attenuation of cellular senescence and reversal of osteoblastic differentiation of DPSCs caused by oxidative stress inhibition. This result suggests potential application in the field of antiaging and tissue engineering to overcome the limitations of senescent stem cells.

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3459692/

Picture: Ras-induced senescent IMR90

RED: Ras-induced senescent IMR90 (mCherry)

GREEN: Growing IMR90 (GFP)

Senescence surveillance of pre-malignant hepatocytes limits liver cancer development

ABSTRACT

Tae-Won Kang, Tetyana Yevsa, Norman Woller, Lisa Hoenicke, Torsten Wuestefeld, Daniel Dauch, Anja Hohmeyer, Marcus Gereke, Ramona Rudalska, Anna Potapova, Marcus Iken, Mihael Vucur, Siegfried Weiss, Mathias Heikenwalder, Sadaf Khan, Jesus Gil, Dunja Bruder, Michael Manns, Peter Schirmacher, Frank Tacke, Michael Ott, Tom Luedde, Thomas Longerich, Stefan Kubicka & Lars Zender

Upon the aberrant activation of oncogenes, normal cells can enter the cellular senescence program, a state of stable cell-cycle arrest, which represents an important barrier against tumour development in vivo1. Senescent cells communicate with their environment by secreting various cytokines and growth factors, and it was reported that this ‘secretory phenotype’ can have pro- as well as anti-tumorigenic effects2, 3, 4, 5. Here we show that oncogene-induced senescence occurs in otherwise normal murine hepatocytes in vivo. Pre-malignant senescent hepatocytes secrete chemo- and cytokines and are subject to immune-mediated clearance (designated as ‘senescence surveillance’), which depends on an intact CD4+ T-cell-mediated adaptive immune response. Impaired immune surveillance of pre-malignant senescent hepatocytes results in the development of murine hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), thus showing that senescence surveillance is important for tumour suppression in vivo. In accordance with these observations, ras-specific Th1 lymphocytes could be detected in mice, in which oncogene-induced senescence had been triggered by hepatic expression of NrasG12V. We also found that CD4+ T cells require monocytes/macrophages to execute the clearance of senescent hepatocytes. Our study indicates that senescence surveillance represents an important extrinsic component of the senescence anti-tumour barrier, and illustrates how the cellular senescence program is involved in tumour immune surveillance by mounting specific immune responses against antigens expressed in pre-malignant senescent cells.


Link: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature10599.html

Clearance of p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells delays ageing-associated disorders

A paper worth reading. Excellent work.


ABSTRACT

Darren J. Baker, Tobias Wijshake, Tamar Tchkonia, Nathan K. LeBrasseur, Bennett G. Childs, Bart van de Sluis, James L. Kirkland & Jan M. van Deursen

Advanced age is the main risk factor for most chronic diseases and functional deficits in humans, but the fundamental mechanisms that drive ageing remain largely unknown, impeding the development of interventions that might delay or prevent age-related disorders and maximize healthy lifespan. Cellular senescence, which halts the proliferation of damaged or dysfunctional cells, is an important mechanism to constrain the malignant progression of tumour cells1, 2. Senescent cells accumulate in various tissues and organs with ageing3 and have been hypothesized to disrupt tissue structure and function because of the components they secrete4, 5. However, whether senescent cells are causally implicated in age-related dysfunction and whether their removal is beneficial has remained unknown. To address these fundamental questions, we made use of a biomarker for senescence, p16Ink4a, to design a novel transgene, INK-ATTAC, for inducible elimination of p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells upon administration of a drug. Here we show that in the BubR1 progeroid mouse background, INK-ATTAC removes p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells upon drug treatment. In tissues—such as adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and eye—in which p16Ink4a contributes to the acquisition of age-related pathologies, life-long removal of p16Ink4a-expressing cells delayed onset of these phenotypes. Furthermore, late-life clearance attenuated progression of already established age-related disorders. These data indicate that cellular senescence is causally implicated in generating age-related phenotypes and that removal of senescent cells can prevent or delay tissue dysfunction and extend healthspan.


Link: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature10600.html