A novel Sudan Black B-based analogue revives lipofuscin as a biomarker for in vivo senescence

Excerpt

Senescence is a fundamental cellular mechanism that has received increasing attention in recent years as a potentially important contributor to developmental, physiological and pathological processes including aging [1]. The term was initially proposed by Hayflick and Moorhead in 1961 to describe the limited proliferative capacity of cultured normal human fibroblasts [2]. After completing a finite number of divisions, these cells entered a state of permanent growth arrest without dying, termed replicative senescence (RS) [1]. It is nowadays well-established that RS relies on telomere shortening following several cell replication events; however, various other stimuli can induce senescence. Stress-induced premature senescence (SISP) is induced independently of telomere length and occurs in response to a variety of stress signals, such as oncogene activation (oncogene-induced senescence, OIS), oxidative stress (oxidative stress-induced senescence), DNA damage, and others [1, 3]. Irrespective of the type of stimulus, senescence is characterized by programmed cell cycle arrest, resistance to apoptosis, metabolic activity, and modified cellular function [1, 3]. …