Chapter 14 - Cellular senescence and aging in bone

Abstract

Cellular senescence is a hallmark of aging that is characterized by irreversible cell cycle arrest in response to various stress stimuli. It is a normal physiological event, which plays essential role in development, prevention of cancer, wound healing process, etc. Nevertheless, accumulation of senescent cells is the trigger and forms the basis of aging of a tissue/organ and, thus, the organismal aging. During aging, cells display a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that transforms normal physiology into pathophysiology of a tissue/organ, leading to its dysfunction. Similarly, the accumulation of senescent bone cells and their dysfunction leads to skeletal morbidity. Therefore, factors regulating the process of cellular senescence during aging can serve as potential therapeutic targets to contain morbidity and improve the bone health. Extensive investigations are currently focused on deciphering age-related bone loss and diseases. In this chapter, authors systematically review the research findings and advancements available on cellular senescence and aging, to understand their contributions to the pathophysiology of bone and the therapeutic options to treat the aging bone.