Using mice, researchers have shown that clearing out senescent cells – cells whose ability to divide is permanently switched off and that accumulate with age – can increase lifespan without negative side effects.

Share on Pinterest The researchers suggest that if the findings work in humans, then removing senescent cells may be a way not only for people to live longer but to be healthier for longer.

In a Nature paper, the team – from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN – describes how senescent cells harm health and shorten lifespan by as much as 35% in normal mice.

They report how eliminating senescent cells delays tumor formation, preserves tissue and organ function and extends lifespan – with no apparent adverse effects.

Senior author Jan van Deursen, a professor of pediatrics with a chair in biochemistry and molecular biology, explains:

“Cellular senescence is a biological mechanism that functions as an ’emergency brake’ used by damaged cells to stop dividing.”

Senescence can be triggered by stress that can cause cells to malfunction – so by halting cell division, it stops them growing abnormally and forming tumors.

Senescent cells may no longer replicate, but they are not dead or dormant and they secrete compounds such as growth factors and enzymes that affect other cells around them.

The authors note that some of the secreted compounds can damage neighboring cells and cause chronic inflammation, which is linked to age-related diseases.

The immune system routinely clears out senescent cells, but over time, this process becomes less effective, so senescent cells accumulate with age.