Research

Mixed

Cellular senescence contributes to organismal aging through two main pathways: depleting tissue self-renewal capacity and disrupting tissue structure/function via inflammatory secretions.

Understand that 'zombie cells' (senescent cells) accumulate with age and actively harm tissue by releasing inflammatory signals and stopping stem cells from working. Strategies that reduce senescence or clear these cells (senolytics) are an area of active research for promoting healthy aging.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The accumulation of senescent cells in animal organs may contribute to the ageing process by depleting the renewal capacity of tissues... and/or by altering tissue structure and function through secretion of matrix metalloproteinases, epithelial growth factors and inflammatory cytokines...
J.-H. Chen et al. · Nucleic Acids Research · 2007

Why this rating

Supported by observations of senescent cell accumulation with age in various tissues and genetic models showing that inducing senescence accelerates aging.

Source

DNA damage, cellular senescence and organismal ageing: causal or correlative?

J.-H. Chen et al. · Nucleic Acids Research · 2007

DOI 10.1093/nar/gkm681

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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