Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 29, 2025

Techniques to Induce and Quantify Cellular Senescence
06:51

Techniques to Induce and Quantify Cellular Senescence

Published on: May 1, 2017

33.3K

Subcellular structure, heterogeneity, and plasticity of senescent cells

Thais Cardoso Bitencourt1, Jose Eduardo Vargas2, Andrew Oliveira Silva3,4

  • 1Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Aging Cell
|March 30, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Cellular senescence, a permanent growth arrest, involves complex phenotypes in senescent cells (SnCs). Understanding SnC heterogeneity is key to their role in health and disease.

Area of Science:

  • Cellular Biology
  • Aging Research

Background:

  • Cellular senescence is a permanent state of growth arrest.
  • It can be triggered by telomere shortening or various stressors like DNA damage and oxidative stress.
  • Senescent cells (SnCs) play crucial roles in human health and disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the phenotype of SnCs, focusing on subcellular alterations.
  • To discuss the heterogeneity, dynamics, and plasticity of SnCs, including the SASP.
  • To explore challenges and future perspectives in SnC research.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent advances in senescence research.
  • Analysis of phenotypic alterations in subcellular compartments.
  • Discussion of SASP, pro-survival mechanisms, and heterogeneity.

Main Results:

  • SnCs exhibit significant alterations in plasma membrane, cytoskeleton, organelles, and nuclei.
  • Phenotypic heterogeneity exists between inducers, tissues, and within SnC populations.
  • The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and pro-survival mechanisms are key features.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding SnC phenotype, including its heterogeneity, is vital for human health and disease.
  • Addressing current challenges requires innovative approaches.
  • Further research is needed to explore basic and applied questions in senescence.
Keywords:
SASPcellular senescencedynamicsheterogeneitysubcellular structure

More Related Videos

Measurement of Protein Turnover Rates in Senescent and Non-Dividing Cultured Cells with Metabolic Labeling and Mass Spectrometry08:52

Measurement of Protein Turnover Rates in Senescent and Non-Dividing Cultured Cells with Metabolic Labeling and Mass Spectrometry

Published on: April 6, 2022

3.5K
Simultaneous Imaging and Flow-Cytometry-based Detection of Multiple Fluorescent Senescence Markers in Therapy-Induced Senescent Cancer Cells08:56

Simultaneous Imaging and Flow-Cytometry-based Detection of Multiple Fluorescent Senescence Markers in Therapy-Induced Senescent Cancer Cells

Published on: July 12, 2022

2.9K

Related Concept Videos

Cell Diversity01:13

Cell Diversity

The concept of a cell started with microscopic observations of dead cork tissue by Robert Hooke in 1665. Hooke coined the term "cell" based on the resemblance of the small subdivisions in the cork to the rooms that monks inhabited, called cells. About ten years later, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek became the first person to observe the living and moving cells under a microscope. In the century that followed, the theory that cells represented the basic unit of life developed.
Multicellular...
3.2K
Distribution of Cytoplasmic Content02:33

Distribution of Cytoplasmic Content

Cytokinesis segregates a cell’s chromosomes and organelles into its daughter cells. Organelles divide and grow prior to cell division but cannot be synthesized de novo; therefore, cells must receive at least one copy of each organelle to survive. Currently, many of the details of how the organelles are distributed are not yet fully elucidated.
Distribution of cytoplasmic determinants
The cytoplasm contains various organelles, as well as salts, proteins, and water. The distribution of...
4.1K
Aging01:26

Aging

Aging is a complex biological phenomenon influenced by various processes that affect cellular and systemic functions. Several prominent theories attempt to explain its mechanisms, highlighting cellular limitations, oxidative damage, and hormonal changes as central factors in aging.
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
49
Stem Cell Niche01:26

Stem Cell Niche

The stem cell niche is the dynamic microenvironment where stem cells reside. Inside these niches, the cells may remain undifferentiated, undergo high self-renewal, or become lineage-specific progenitors. Stem cells coexist with other niche cells, such as stromal cells. They also interact closely with the ECM. Cell-cell and cell-matrix communication occur via adhesion molecules or soluble factors that signal the stem cells and determine their fate. Stromal cells also provide survival signals to...
5.1K
Cellular Differentiation00:57

Cellular Differentiation

How does a complex organism such as a human develop from a single cell? It all starts from a single fertilized egg which gives rise to a vast array of cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and epithelial cells that characterize the adult? Throughout development and adulthood, cellular differentiation leads cells to assume their final morphology and physiology. Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialized to carry out distinct functions.
A zygote is a...
2.7K
Animal and Plant Cell Structure01:30

Animal and Plant Cell Structure

Animal and plant cells not only differ in their structure, function, and mode of nutrition but also in how they reproduce, specialize, and organize into complex structures.
Cell Division
Though both plant and animal cells divide by mitosis (for non-gametic cells) and meiosis (for gametic cells), they differ in the specifics of this process. Unlike animal cells, plant cells lack centrosomes — an organelle responsible for organizing the spindle fibers and segregating the chromosomes during...
29.4K