Forging a Signature of in Vivo Senescence

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Cancer

Specialty Oncology

Date 2015 Jun 25

PMID 26105537

Citations 561

Authors

Norman E Sharpless

Charles J Sherr

Affiliations

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Abstract

'Cellular senescence', a term originally defining the characteristics of cultured cells that exceed their replicative limit, has been broadened to describe durable states of proliferative arrest induced by disparate stress factors. Proposed relationships between cellular senescence, tumour suppression, loss of tissue regenerative capacity and ageing suffer from lack of uniform definition and consistently applied criteria. Here, we highlight caveats in interpreting the importance of suboptimal senescence-associated biomarkers, expressed either alone or in combination. We advocate that more-specific descriptors be substituted for the now broadly applied umbrella term 'senescence' in defining the suite of diverse physiological responses to cellular stress.

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