Senolytics — a class of drugs that reduce chronic inflammation and tissue damage in aging cells — are shown to eliminate 30% to 70% of "zombie" cells in the body. These zombie cells, known as senescent cells, stop dividing and don't die, ultimately contributing to a host of diseases of aging, including cancer.
A preclinical study from Cedars-Sinai revealed three breakthrough developments in the field:
- Selective Purging: Senolytic drugs target the most harmful cells, leaving less-harmful senescent cells behind.
- Activation Risk: Remaining resistant cells can be reactivated into tissue-damaging states by environmental factors or infections.
- Synergistic Approach: A new class of drugs, "senosensitizers," can prime these resistant cells for elimination by senolytics.
Investigators found that in laboratory mice, the remaining senescent cells were less inflammatory than those removed. However, when triggered by an inflammatory environment, these cells become more vulnerable to treatment, suggesting that targeting them with senosensitizers followed by senolytics could maximize therapeutic impact.
