Markers of `cell senescence'

Abstract

In the current literature cells that have finished their proliferative life span in vitro and have reached a terminal post-mitotic state are called senescent cells. This definition originated from the belief that the irreversible non-dividing state has a relationship with aging of the organism. Attempts have been made to find markers of the so-called senescent cell in order to detect their presence in vivo in donors of different ages. One marker which was supposed to demonstrate an increase of post-mitotic cells with aging is a marker of a long resting phase whether reversible or irreversible. Other markers suggest that the postmitotic cell does not increase with aging of the organism, that it is irrelevant for aging, that it is found in an increased number in pathology, and that the term senescent cell is a misnomer that should be used only in an operational manner.