NIH Maps Senescent Cells, Opens the Way to Research Age-Related Diseases

Illustration of mapping senescent cells in various body tissues to support research on age-related diseases. (Illustration made by AI)

JAKARTA - A research consortium funded by the National Institutes of Health or NIH has compiled the first comprehensive atlas of senescent cells in various human body tissues. This mapping can serve as the basis for the development of more targeted therapies for age-related diseases.

NIH quoted from its official website on Friday, July 17, saying the results of the research were published in a collection of papers in the June 11 issue of the Cell journal. Senescent cells are cells that stop dividing, but remain active in the body.

These cells are not always harmful. In healthy tissues, senescent cells help wound healing and are part of the body's mechanisms that prevent tumor growth.

The problem arises when the cells accumulate with age. Under normal conditions, senescent cells are cleared by the immune system. However, this ability can decrease in old age.

Unclean cells can then release harmful signals that contribute to chronic diseases and age-related disorders.

The results of the study showed that the elimination of senescent cells can reduce the effects of aging. However, these cells are difficult to study because their number is small and their nature is very diverse.

To answer the problem, the NIH Common Fund launched the Cellular Senescence Network or SenNet in 2021. The program is tasked with recognizing, mapping, and classifying senescent cells throughout the human body.

SenNet researchers now introduce the term senotipe. This term is used to group senesen cells based on location, network type, health status, and surrounding environment.

NIH's Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, Nicole Kleinstreuer, said the mapping was necessary to distinguish between harmful cells and cells that are still useful.

"This knowledge can help researchers develop more targeted therapies, by targeting harmful cells without eliminating beneficial cells," said Kleinstreuer.

Atlas SenNet has so far mapped senescent cells in a number of tissues, including the brain's prefrontal cortex, lungs, and lymph nodes.

The prefrontal cortex is the front of the brain that is associated with thinking and decision-making functions.

The consortium is also developing computational tools to recognize the typical biological features of senescent cells.

NIH also said researchers have found markers in the blood that in human aging studies can predict kidney disease, physical frailty, and future diabetes risk.

Biomarkers are measurable characteristics in the body that can indicate health conditions or disease risk.

This research also uses single-cell analysis, spatial omics, and artificial intelligence. Spatial omics is a method for studying molecules and cells based on their location in the network.

The method is needed because senescent cells are rarely found and difficult to recognize among the various cells in the human tissue.

The research also includes the identification and initial testing of senolytics, a group of experimental drugs designed to selectively eliminate senescent cells.

This atlas is expected to help researchers target harmful cells without eliminating cells that are still useful.

The atlas compiled will be open to the public and contain the location, differences, and effects of senescent cells on human health.