Access

Review

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 8, 729–740 (1 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/nrm2233

Cellular senescence: when bad things happen to good cells

Judith Campisi & Fabrizio d'Adda di Fagagna

Cells continually experience stress and damage from exogenous and endogenous sources, and their responses range from complete recovery to cell death. Proliferating cells can initiate an additional response by adopting a state of permanent cell-cycle arrest that is termed cellular senescence. Understanding the causes and consequences of cellular senescence has provided novel insights into how cells react to stress, especially genotoxic stress, and how this cellular response can affect complex organismal processes such as the development of cancer and ageing.