Cellular Senescence: Aging Gracefully

Baoqi He

Baoqi He
Oct 11, 2022 11:00:00 AM

Senescent CellReaching the golden years doesn’t always feel so golden. As we age, disease, injury, and other stress factors from the environment will damage our bodies' cells. Most cells may be able to repair that damage, while our immune system usually clears those damaged cells through a process called apoptosis.[1] However, if cellular repair and clearance is not effective, the residual damaged cells will further weaken the immune system and deteriorate other biological processes. Is there a possibility that we can avoid this cellular damage and improve the health of older people? A cellular state known as senescence might hold the key to this question.[1, 2] During senescence, the damaged cells irreversibly stop dividing and resist being removed. [3] Researchers have shown that determining senescence biomarkers could lead to new therapies for the inflammatory disease caused by senescence in older people.[4]

What is Cellular Senescence?

 

Eukaryotic Cells-01Cellular senescence refers to a state of stable cell cycle arrest in which proliferating cells become resistant to growth-promoting stimuli, typically in response to DNA damage. The phenomenon was first described by Leonard Hayflick upon the observation that human fetal fibroblasts eventually stopped dividing, but remained viable and metabolically active after prolonged time in culture.[3] More recently, cell senescence was identified as a response opposing oncogenic transformation, as research has shown that cells carrying an activated oncogene either die through apoptosis or enter the characteristic stable cell cycle arrest that defines cell senescence. [5]

 

Biomarkers for Senescence

 

Modern science has profiled specific biomarkers that facilitate the unequivocal detection and quantification of senescent cells in vitro and in vivo, which consists of the elevated senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity [6], cell cycle regulators including p16INK4a, p21CIP1, and p53[7], DNA damage markers like Phospho-gamma-H2A.X[8] and Phospho-ATM [9], global heterochromatin loss characterized by H3K9me3 and H3K27me3[10], senescence-induced lamin B1 downregulation [11], negativity of proliferation marker Ki-67[12], senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP)[13] containing HMGB1, MMPs, IL-6, IL-8, and other characteristic factors.

 

How ABclonal Can Help

 

ABclonal offers a diverse selection of antibodies to facilitate cell senescence research. Please see a selection of markers below, or search our vast catalog for your favorite target.

 

Target

Cat.No.

Product Name

Applications

Reactivity

p16 INK4A

A11651

[KO Validated] CDKN2A/p16INK4a Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC, IF

Human

p21 Waf1/Cip1

A19094

[KO Validated] CDKN1A/p21 CIP1 Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC

Human

Phospho-gamma-H2A.X

AP0687

Phospho-Histone H2AX-S139 Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC, IF

Human, Mouse, Rat

H3K9me3

A2360

TriMethyl-Histone H3-K9 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC, IF, IP, ChIP, ChIP-seq

Human, Mouse, Rat, Other (Wide Range)

H3K27me3

A2363

TriMethyl-Histone H3-K27 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC, IF, IP, ChIP, ChIP-seq

Human, Mouse, Rat, Other (Wide Range)

ATM

A19650

ATM Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC

Human, Mouse, Rat

Phospho-ATM

AP1030

Phospho-ATM-S1981 Rabbit mAb

WB

Human

p53

A19585

[KO Validated] p53 Rabbit mAb

WB

Human

A0263

p53 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC, IF, ChIP

Human, Rat

Phospho-p53

AP0083

Phospho-p53-S15 Rabbit pAb

WB, IF, IP

Human, Mouse, Rat

Rb

A3618

[KO Validated] Rb Rabbit mAb

WB

Human

Phospho-Rb

AP0117

Phospho Rb-S780 Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC

Human, Mouse, Rat

Ki67

A11390

Ki67 Rabbit pAb

WB, IF

Human, Mouse, Rat

Lamin B1

A4373

Laminin beta 1 Rabbit mAb

WB, IF

Human, Mouse, Rat

IL1 beta

A16288

IL1 beta Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC, IF

Human, Mouse, Rat

IL6

A11115

IL6 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC

Human, Mouse, Rat

TNF-α

A11534

TNF-α Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC, IF

Human, Mouse, Rat

IL8

A2541

IL8 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC

Human

HMGB1

A19529

[KO Validated] HMGB1 Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC, IF

Human, Mouse, Rat

MMP2

A6247

MMP2 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC

Human, Mouse, Rat

MMP3

A11418

MMP3 Rabbit mAb

WB, IHC

Human, Mouse, Rat

MMP9

A11147

MMP9 Rabbit pAb

WB, IHC

Human, Mouse, Rat

 

 

References 

  1. "Does Cellular Senescence Hold Secrets For Healthier Aging?". National Institute On Aging, 2022, https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/does-cellular-senescence-hold-secrets-healthier-aging.
  2. Gong, Longyuan et al. "Senescence - Latest Research And News | Nature". Nature.Com, 2022, https://www.nature.com/subjects/senescence.
  3. "Overview Of Cellular Senescence And Aging | Cell Signaling Technology". Cell Signaling Technology, 2022, https://www.cellsignal.com/science-resources/overview-of-cellular-senescence.
  4. "How Studying Cellular Senescence Can Help Researchers Learn To Delay Aging". Yale School Of Medicine, 2022, https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/how-studying-cellular-senescence-can-help-researchers-learn-to-delay-aging/.
  5. Da Silva-Álvarez, S., and M. Collado. "Cellular Senescence". Encyclopedia Of Cell Biology, 2016, pp. 511-517. Elsevier, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-394447-4.30066-9.
  6. Debacq-Chainaux et al. (2009) “Protocols to detect senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-βgal) activity, a biomarker of senescent cells in culture and in vivo.” Nature Protocols 4:1798-1806.
  7. Collado M & Serrano M (2010) “Senescence in tumours: evidence from mice and humans.” Nature Reviews Cancer 10(1):51-57.
  8. di Fagagna et al. (2003) “A DNA damage checkpoint response in telomere-initiated senescence.” Nature 426:194-198.
  9. Zhou L (2007) “Single- and double-stranded DNA: building a trigger of ATR-mediated DNA damage response.” Genes & Development 21:879-885.
  10. Tsurumi A & Li WX (2012) “Global heterochromatin loss: a unifying theory of aging?” Epigenetics 7(7):680-688.
  11. Shimi et al. (2011) “The role of nuclear lamin B1 in cell proliferation and senescence.” Genes & Development 25:2579-2593.
  12. Lawless et al. (2010) “Quantitative assessment of markers for cell senescence.” Exp Gerontol 45(10):772-778.
  13. Acosta et al. (2008) “Chemokine signaling via the CXCR2 receptor reinforces senescence.” Cell 133(6):1006-1018.

 

Tags: Cell Biology, ABclonal News, Cell Signaling, ABclonal Technology, Cell Marker, biomarker, Global Health, Senescence, senescence marker, senescence biomarker, Aging

Baoqi He

Baoqi He

Baoqi is a biological tech support intern at ABClonal. She is a current junior at Davidson College majoring in biology. Baoqi likes exploring various topics related to biology, such as immunology and genetics. She enjoys dancing and reading novels in her spare time.