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Senescent cells, senolytics and tissue repair: the devil may be in the dosing

Nature Aging volume 3, pages 139–141 (2023)Cite this article

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There is tremendous interest in the development of drugs that target senescent cells (‘senolytic’ drugs) to treat a range of age-related morbidities. However, studies in mice that demonstrate impaired tissue repair following clearance of senescent cells raise questions about the potential risks of senolytic therapies. Closer examination of the available studies reveals the hopeful possibility of a ‘therapeutic window’ in which these risks can be minimized.

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Fig. 1: Schematic of postulated effects of continuous versus intermittent senolytic treatment on tissue repair.

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Acknowledgements

S.K. is supported by grants P01 AG062413, R01 AG076515 and U54 AG079754.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Sundeep Khosla

  2. Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Sundeep Khosla

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  1. Sundeep Khosla
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Correspondence to Sundeep Khosla.

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Nature Aging thanks Eiji Hara and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Khosla, S. Senescent cells, senolytics and tissue repair: the devil may be in the dosing. Nat Aging 3, 139–141 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-023-00365-6

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