Senotherapy is an early-stage

basic research Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theory, theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied ...

field for development of possible therapeutic agents and strategies to specifically target

cellular senescence Cellular senescence is a phenomenon characterized by the cessation of cell division. In their experiments during the early 1960s, Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead found that normal human fetal fibroblasts in culture reach a maximum of approxi ...

, an altered cell state associated with ageing and age-related diseases. The name derives from intent of the proposed anti-aging drug to halt "senescence". As of 2019, much of the research remains preliminary and there are no drugs approved for this purpose.

Types

Senotherapeutics include: *

Geroprotector A geroprotector is a senotherapeutic that aims to affect the root cause of aging and age-related diseases, and thus prolong the life span of animals. Some possible geroprotectors include melatonin, carnosine, metformin, rapamycin,nicotinamide m ...

s – agents/strategies which prevent or reverse the senescent state by preventing triggers of cellular senescence, such as

DNA damage DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA da ...

oxidative stress Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. Disturbances in the normal re ...

, proteotoxic stress,

telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mo ...

shortening (i.e.

telomerase Telomerase, also called terminal transferase, is a ribonucleoprotein that adds a species-dependent telomere repeat sequence to the 3' end of telomeres. A telomere is a region of repetitive sequences at each end of the chromosomes of most e ...

activators). * SASP inhibitors – agents interfering with

pro-inflammatory Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecu ...

senescence-associated secretory phenotype Senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) is a phenotype associated with senescent cells wherein those cells secrete high levels of inflammatory cytokines, immune modulators, growth factors, and proteases. SASP may also consist of exosomes ...

(SASP) production, including: *#

Glucocorticoid Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every verte ...

s as potent suppressors of selected components of the SASP *#

Statin Statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are a class of lipid-lowering medications that reduce illness and mortality in those who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease. They are the most common cholesterol-lowering drugs. L ...

s such as simvastatin, that can reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1) *# JAK1/2 inhibitors such as

ruxolitinib Ruxolitinib, sold under the brand names Jakafi and Jakavi, is a medication used for the treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, a type of myeloproliferative disorder that affects the bone marrow; polycythemia vera (PCV), when ther ...

NF-κB Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is a protein complex that controls transcription of DNA, cytokine production and cell survival. NF-κB is found in almost all animal cell types and is involved in cellular ...

and p38 inhibitors *#

IL-1α Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) also known as hematopoietin 1 is a cytokine of the interleukin 1 family that in humans is encoded by the ''IL1A'' gene. In general, Interleukin 1 is responsible for the production of inflammation, as well as the ...

blockers *# Mitochondrial depleters in the case of impaired

mitophagy Mitophagy is the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy. It often occurs to defective mitochondria following damage or stress. The process of mitophagy was first described over a hundred years ago by Margaret Reed Lewis and Warren Har ...

Senolytic A senolytic (from the words ''senescence'' and ''-lytic'', "destroying") is among a class of small molecules under basic research to determine if they can selectively induce death of senescent cells and improve health in humans. A goal of this r ...

s – small molecules that specifically induce cell death in senescent cells, targeting survival pathways and anti-apoptotic mechanisms, antibodies and antibody-mediated drug delivery medications. Unlike SASP inhibitors, senolytics can be effective by intermittent rather than continuous application. * Senomorphics – small molecules that suppress senescent phenotypes without cell killing *

Gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human D ...

strategies – edit the genes of the cells of an organism in order to increase their resistance to aging, senile diseases and to prolong the life of the organism

Types

See also

References

Further reading