Novel expression of CST1 as candidate senescence marker

Senescent cells exhibit altered expression of numerous genes. Identifying the significance of the changes in gene expression may help advance our understanding of the senescence biology. Here, we report on the consistent and strong upregulation of CST1 expression during cellular senescence, independent of the initial trigger. CST1 expression at both the messenger RNA and protein levels was barely detected in control cells, which included early passage proliferating, quiescent, or immortal human fibroblasts and various human tumor cell lines. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence cytochemical studies further suggest that CST1 accumulates intracellularly, within vesicular structures. We discuss these results in light of the known function of CST1 as a potent inhibitor of lysosomal cysteine proteases.