Maintenance Of Cellular Senescence Research Articles

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced senescence in human lung fibroblasts.

Loss of proteostasis and cellular senescence have been previously established as characteristics of aging; however, their interaction in the context of lung aging and potential contributions to aging-associated lung remodeling remains understudied. In this study, we aimed to characterize endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, cellular senescence, and their interaction in relation to extracellular matrix (ECM) production in lung fibroblasts from young (25-45 yr) and old (>60 yr) humans. Fibroblasts from young and old patients without significant preexisting lung disease were exposed to vehicle, MG132, etoposide, or salubrinal. Afterward, cells and cell lysates or supernatants were analyzed for ER stress, cellular senescence, and ECM changes using protein analysis, proliferation assay, and senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) staining. At baseline, fibroblasts from aging individuals showed increased levels of ER stress (ATF6 and PERK), senescence (p21 and McL-1), and ECM marker (COL1A1) compared to those from young individuals. Upon ER stress induction and etoposide exposure, fibroblasts showed an increase in senescence (SA-β-Gal, p21, and Cav-1), ER stress (PERK), and ECM markers (COL1A1 and LUM) compared to vehicle. Additionally, IL-6 and IL-8 levels were increased in the supernatants of MG132- and etoposide-treated fibroblasts, respectively. Finally, the ER stress inhibitor salubrinal decreased the expression of p21 compared to vehicle and MG132 treatments; however, salubrinal inhibited COL1A1 but not p21 expression in MG132-treated fibroblasts. Our study suggests that ER stress response plays an important role in establishment and maintenance of a senescence phenotype in lung fibroblasts and therefore contributes to altered remodeling in the aging lung.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The current study establishes functional links between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and cellular senescence per se in the specific context of aging human lung fibroblasts. Recognizing that the process of aging per se is complex, modulated by the myriad of lifelong and environmental exposures, it is striking to note that chronic ER stress may play a crucial role in the establishment and maintenance of cellular senescence in lung fibroblasts.

Publisher's Note: Temporally distinct roles of ATM and ROS in genotoxic-stress-dependent induction and maintenance of cellular senescence.

There is an error in J. Cell Sci. (2015) 128, 342-353 (doi:10.1242/jcs.159517).An issue with cell images in Fig. 1C (BrdU treated) and Fig. 2B (100 μM) was raised on PubPeer. These two panels show the same field of cells but in different orientations. The authors state that these cells were selected as results show the same experimental conditions (100 μM BrdU treatment) and they chose to highlight a different cell in each case.An alternative cell for these conditions is shown in the new Fig. 2B here.The journal is publishing this note to alert readers to the duplication, which does not impact the conclusions of the paper. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Loss-of-function of p53 isoform \u0394113p53 accelerates brain aging in zebrafish

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress has been demonstrated as potentially critical for induction and maintenance of cellular senescence, and been considered as a contributing factor in aging and in various neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In response to low-level ROS stress, the expression of Δ133p53, a human p53 isoform, is upregulated to promote cell survival and protect cells from senescence by enhancing the expression of antioxidant genes. In normal conditions, the basal expression of Δ133p53 prevents human fibroblasts, T lymphocytes, and astrocytes from replicative senescence. It has been also found that brain tissues from AD and ALS patients showed decreased Δ133p53 expression. However, it is uncharacterized if Δ133p53 plays a role in brain aging. Here, we report that zebrafish Δ113p53, an ortholog of human Δ133p53, mainly expressed in some of the radial glial cells along the telencephalon ventricular zone in a full-length p53-dependent manner. EDU-labeling and cell lineage tracing showed that Δ113p53-positive cells underwent cell proliferation to contribute to the neuron renewal process. Importantly, Δ113p53M/M mutant telencephalon possessed less proliferation cells and more senescent cells compared to wild-type (WT) zebrafish telencephalon since 9-months old, which was associated with decreased antioxidant genes expression and increased level of ROS in the mutant telencephalon. More interestingly, unlike the mutant fish at 5-months old with cognition ability, Δ113p53M/M zebrafish, but not WT zebrafish, lost their learning and memory ability at 19-months old. The results demonstrate that Δ113p53 protects the brain from aging by its antioxidant function. Our finding provides evidence at the organism level to show that depletion of Δ113p53/Δ133p53 may result in long-term ROS stress, and finally lead to age-related diseases, such as AD and ALS in humans.

Loss of RNA-binding protein HuR facilitates cellular senescence through posttranscriptional regulation of TIN2 mRNA.

Cellular senescence can be induced by high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by mitochondria. However, the mechanism by which elevated mitochondrial ROS levels are produced during replicative senescence is not yet fully understood. Here, we report that loss of the RNA-binding protein, human antigen R (HuR), during replicative senescence leads to an increase in ROS levels through enhanced mitochondrial localization of the telomeric protein TIN2. HuR binds to the 3′ untranslated region of TIN2 mRNA. This association decreases TIN2 protein levels by both destabilizing TIN2 mRNA and reducing its translation. Conversely, depletion of HuR levels enhances TIN2 expression, leading to increased mitochondrial targeting of TIN2. Mitochondrial localization of TIN2 increases ROS levels, which contributes to induction and maintenance of cellular senescence. Our findings provide compelling evidence for a novel role of HuR in controlling the process of cellular senescence by regulating TIN2-mediated mitochondrial ROS production, and for a useful therapeutic route for modulating intracellular ROS levels in treating both aging-related complications and cancer.

Nutrient sensing, growth and senescence.

Cell growth is dictated by a wide range of mitogenic signals, the amplitude and relative contribution of which vary throughout development, differentiation and in a tissue‐specific manner. The ability to sense and appropriately respond to changes in mitogens is fundamental to control cell growth, and reduced responsiveness of nutrient sensing pathways is widely associated with human disease and ageing. Cellular senescence is an important tumour suppressor mechanism that is characterised by an irreversible exit from the cell cycle in response to replicative exhaustion or excessive DNA damage. Despite the fact that senescent cells can no longer divide, they remain metabolically active and display a range of pro‐growth phenotypes that are supported in part by the mTORC1‐autophagy signalling axis. As our understanding of the basic mechanisms of controlling mTORC1‐autophagy activity and cell growth continues to expand, we are able to explore how changes in nutrient sensing contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of cellular senescence. Furthermore, while the protective effect of senescence to limit cellular transformation is clear, more recently, the age‐related accumulation of these pro‐inflammatory senescent cells has been shown to contribute to a decline in organismal fitness. We will further discuss whether dysregulation of nutrient sensing pathways can be targeted to promote senescent cell death which would have important implications for healthy ageing.

The ATF6α arm of the Unfolded Protein Response mediates replicative senescence in human fibroblasts through a COX2/prostaglandin E2 intracrine pathway

Senescence is recognized as a cellular state acquired in response to various stresses. It occurs in correlation with the activation of the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) pathway. However, the UPR targets which might relay the establishment of the senescent phenotype are not known. Herein, we investigated whether the up-regulation of the COX2 (PTGS2) limiting enzyme in the prostaglandin biosynthesis pathway, known to mediate cellular senescence in normal human fibroblasts, could be controlled by the UPR sensors ATF6α, IRE1α and PERK. We found that UPR inducers cause premature senescence through an increase in COX2 expression, and an overproduction of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in wild type fibroblasts but not in ATF6α invalidated ones. In replicative senescent fibroblasts, ATF6α and IRE1α silencing abrogated COX2 up-regulation and PGE2 production. The expanded ER and the large cell size characteristics of senescent fibroblasts were both reduced upon the invalidation of COX2 as well as ATF6α. These effects of the ATF6α invalidation were prevented by favoring the import of PGE2, but not just by supplying extracellular PGE2. Taken together, our results support a critical role of ATF6α in the establishment and maintenance of cellular senescence in normal human fibroblasts via the up-regulation of a COX2/PGE2 intracrine pathway.

Long Noncoding RNAs and RNA-Binding Proteins in Oxidative Stress, Cellular Senescence, and Age-Related Diseases.

Cellular senescence is a complex biological process that leads to irreversible cell-cycle arrest. Various extrinsic and intrinsic insults are associated with the onset of cellular senescence and frequently accompany genomic or epigenomic alterations. Cellular senescence is believed to contribute to tumor suppression, immune response, and tissue repair as well as aging and age-related diseases. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are >200 nucleotides long, poorly conserved, and transcribed in a manner similar to that of mRNAs. They are tightly regulated during various cellular and physiological processes. Although many lncRNAs and their functional roles are still undescribed, the importance of lncRNAs in a variety of biological processes is widely recognized. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have a pivotal role in posttranscriptional regulation as well as in mRNA transport, storage, turnover, and translation. RBPs interact with mRNAs, other RBPs, and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) including lncRNAs, and they are involved in the regulation of a broad spectrum of cellular processes. Like other cell fate regulators, lncRNAs and RBPs, separately or cooperatively, are implicated in initiation and maintenance of cellular senescence, aging, and age-related diseases. Here, we review the current understanding of both lncRNAs and RBPs and their association with oxidative stress, senescence, and age-related diseases.

Necessary and Sufficient Role for a Mitosis Skip in Senescence Induction

Senescence is a state of permanent growth arrest and is a pivotal part of the antitumorigenic barrier in vivo. Although the tumor suppressor activities of p53 and pRb family proteins are essential for the induction of senescence, molecular mechanisms by which these proteins induce senescence are still not clear. Using time-lapse live-cell imaging, we demonstrate here that normal human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) exposed to various senescence-inducing stimuli undergo a mitosis skip before entry into permanent cell-cycle arrest. This mitosis skip is mediated by both p53-dependent premature activation of APC/C(Cdh1) and pRb family protein-dependent transcriptional suppression of mitotic regulators. Importantly, mitotic skipping is necessary and sufficient for senescence induction. p16 is only required for maintenance of senescence. Analysis of human nevi also suggested the role of mitosis skip in in vivo senescence. Our findings provide decisive evidence for the molecular basis underlying the induction and maintenance of cellular senescence.

Temporally distinct roles of ATM and ROS in genotoxic-stress-dependent induction and maintenance of cellular senescence.

Cells exposed to genotoxic stress induce cellular senescence through a DNA damage response (DDR) pathway regulated by ATM kinase and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we show that the regulatory roles for ATM kinase and ROS differ during induction and maintenance of cellular senescence. Cells treated with different genotoxic agents were analyzed using specific pathway markers and inhibitors to determine that ATM kinase activation is directly proportional to the dose of the genotoxic stress and that senescence initiation is not dependent on ROS or the p53 status of cells. Cells in which ROS was quenched still activated ATM and initiated the DDR when insulted, and progressed normally to senescence. By contrast, maintenance of a viable senescent state required the presence of ROS as well as activated ATM. Inhibition or removal of either of the components caused cell death in senescent cells, through a deregulated ATM-ROS axis. Overall, our work demonstrates existence of an intricate temporal hierarchy between genotoxic stress, DDR and ROS in cellular senescence. Our model reports the existence of different stages of cellular senescence with distinct regulatory networks.

Reduced transcriptional activity in the p53 pathway of senescent cells revealed by the MDM2 antagonist nutlin-3

The p53 tumor suppressor plays a key role in induction and maintenance of cellular senescence but p53-regulated response to stress in senescent cells is poorly understood. Here, we use the small-molecule MDM2 antagonist, nutlin-3a, to selectively activate p53 and probe functionality of the p53 pathway in senescent human fibroblasts, WI-38. Our experiments revealed overall reduction in nutlin-induced transcriptional activity of nine p53 target genes and four p53-regulated microRNAs, indicating that not only p53 protein levels but also its ability to activate transcription are altered during senescence. Addition of nutlin restored doxorubicin-induced p53 protein and transcriptional activity in senescent cells to the levels in early passage cells but only partially restored its apoptotic activity, suggesting that changes in both upstream and downstream p53 signaling during senescence are responsible for attenuated response to genotoxic stress.

P16INK4a‐induced senescence is disabled by melanoma‐associated mutations

The p16INK4a-Rb tumour suppressor pathway is required for the initiation and maintenance of cellular senescence, a state of permanent growth arrest that acts as a natural barrier against cancer progression. Senescence can be overcome if the pathway is not fully engaged, and this may occur when p16INK4a is inactivated. p16INK4a is frequently altered in human cancer and germline mutations affecting p16INK4a have been linked to melanoma susceptibility. To characterize the functions of melanoma-associated p16INK4a mutations, in terms of promoting proliferative arrest and initiating senescence, we utilized an inducible expression system in a melanoma cell model. We show that wild-type p16INK4a promotes rapid cell cycle arrest that leads to a senescence programme characterized by the appearance of chromatin foci, activation of acidic β-galactosidase activity, p53 independence and Rb dependence. Accumulation of wild-type p16INK4a also promoted cell enlargement and extensive vacuolization independent of Rb status. In contrast, the highly penetrant p16INK4a variants, R24P and A36P failed to arrest cell proliferation and did not initiate senescence. We also show that overexpression of CDK4, or its homologue CDK6, but not the downstream kinase, CDK2, inhibited the ability of wild-type p16INK4a to promote cell cycle arrest and senescence. Our data provide the first evidence that p16INK4a can initiate a CDK4/6-dependent autonomous senescence programme that is disabled by inherited melanoma-associated mutations.

Living on a break: cellular senescence as a DNA-damage response

Cellular senescence is associated with ageing and cancer in vivo and has a proven tumour-suppressive function. Common to both ageing and cancer is the generation of DNA damage and the engagement of the DNA-damage response pathways. In this Review, the diverse mechanisms that lead to DNA-damage generation and the activation of DNA-damage-response signalling pathways are discussed, together with the evidence for their contribution to the establishment and maintenance of cellular senescence in the context of organismal ageing and cancer development.

Modification of the ATM/ATR directed DNA damage response state with aging and long after hepatocyte senescence induction in vivo

The cellular DNA damage response (DDR) entails the activation of ATM, ATR and/or DNA PK protein kinases that causes modifications of proteins including Chk1, Chk2 and 53BP1, aggregation of DDR proteins into foci, and activation of p53. The DDR is thought to be required for initiation and maintenance of cellular senescence. Potentially senescent cells with DNA damage foci occur in large numbers in vivo with many diseases, but, with the exception of mammalian dermis, there is little evidence for that with normal aging. After experimental induction of cellular senescence in the livers of juvenile mice, there was robust expression of DDR markers in hepatocytes at 1 week; however, by 7 weeks, activation of ATM/ATR kinase targets was limited, although cells with DNA damage foci were present. An analysis of hepatocytes of aged, 22-month-old mice, not experimentally exposed to genotoxins, showed limited activation of ATM/ATR targets, though high numbers of cells with DNA damage foci were found, similar to that seen many weeks after artificial senescence induction in young mice. Based on senescence heterochromatin and SA ß Gal assays of the 22-month-old mouse liver, more than 20% of hepatocytes were potentially senescent, though only some components of the DDR were enriched.

Inhibition of p38 MAPK Reduces Ionizing Radiation-Induced Hematopoietic Cell Injury.

Our previous studies demonstrated that exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) causes long-term bone marrow (BM) damage by induction cellular senescence in hematopoietic cells. The senescent hematopoietic cells exhibited an elevated activity of the senescence associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), a biomaker for senescent cells, and expressed increased levels of p16Ink4a (p16), whose expression has been implicated in the establishment and maintenance of cellular senescence. Activation of the p38 MAPK pathway has been implicated in the induction of cell cycle arrest and senescence in response to a variety of stressors in part by up-regulating the expression of p16. Therefore, in the present study we examined the role of the p38 MAPK pathway in IR-induced hematopoietic cell senescence. The results showed that exposure of male C57BL/6 mice to a sublethal dose (6.5 Gy) of total body irradiation (TBI) caused a sustained activation (>4 weeks) of p38 in Lin− c-kit+ Sca-1+ (LKS+) hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). This activation was associated with a persistent up-regulation of p16 and quantitative and qualitative reduction of LKS+ HSCs. Inhibition of p38 activity with SB202190 (a specific p38 inhibitor) attenuated IR-induced inhibition of the hematopoietic function of BM hematopoietic cells in an in vitro colony forming cell (CFC) assay. Moreover, the production of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) in SB202190-treated BM cells was 7.5 fold higher than that of irradiated cells without SB202190 treatment after five weeks of long-term BM cell culture (LTBMC); and the cells treated with SB202190 after IR retained their clonogenic function while the control irradiated cells lose their ability to form colonies. These findings suggest that p38 may play an important role in mediating IR-induced suppression of hematopoietic cell function and pharmacological inhibition of the p38 pathway may potentially be developed as novel therapeutic strategy to ameliorate IR- and chemotherapy-induced BM toxicity.

Induction of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Senescence by Ionizing Radiation.

Exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) and certain chemotherapeutic agents not only causes acute bone marrow (BM) suppression but also leads to long-term residual hematopoietic injury. This later effect has been attributed to the damage to hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal. Using a mouse model, we investigated whether IR induces senescence in HSCs, as induction of HSC senescence can lead to the impairment of HSC self-renewal. The results showed that exposure of C57BL/6 mice to a sublethal dose (6.5 Gy) of total body irradiation (TBI) resulted in a long-lasting quantitative and qualitative reduction in HSCs (Lin− c-kit+ Sca-1+ or LKS+ cells). Compared to control HSCs, HSCs from irradiated BM at 4 weeks after TBI exhibited a significant reduction in day-35 CAFC frequency and deficiency in cell proliferation and colony formation in a single cell culture assay stimulated with SCF/TPO and SCF/TPO/IL-3, respectively. In addition, transplantation of irradiated HSCs (500 LKS+ cells/recipient) produced less than 1% long-term (2-month) engraftment in a competitive repopulation assay while transplantation of the same number of control HSCs resulted in 24.8% engraftment. Furthermore, HSCs from irradiated mice expressed increased levels of p16Ink4a and senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal), two commonly used biomarkers of cellular senescence. In contrast, hematopoietic progenitor cells (Lin− c-kit+ Sca-1− or LKS− cells) from irradiated mice did not show significant changes in clonogenesity in a CFU assay and expressed minimal levels of p16Ink4a and SA-beta-gal. These results suggest that exposure to IR can induce senescence selectively in HSCs but not in HPCs. Interestingly, this IR- induced HSC senescence was associated with a prolonged elevation of p21Cip1/Waf1, p16Ink4a and p19ARF mRNA expression, whereas the expression of p27Kip1, p18Ink4c and p19 Ink4d mRNA was not increased. This suggests that p21Cip1/Waf1, p16Ink4a and p19ARF may play an important role in IR-induced senescence in HSCs, since their expression has been implicated in the initiation, establishment and maintenance of cellular senescence. Therefore, these findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying IR-induced long-term BM damage. This could lead to the discovery of novel molecular targets for intervention to circumvent IR-induced BM toxicity. In addition, understanding how normal HSCs senesce after IR and chemotherapy will help us to elucidate the molecular mechanisms whereby leukemia/cancer stem cells evade these cancer treatments and provide better knowledge of organismal aging.

Loss of Proliferative Capacity and Induction of Senescence in Oxidatively Stressed Human Fibroblasts

Cellular senescence can result from short, dysfunctional telomeres, oxidative stress, or oncogene expression, and may contribute to aging. To investigate the role of cellular senescence in aging it is necessary to define the time-dependent molecular events by which it is characterized. Here we investigated changes in levels of key proteins involved in cell cycle regulation, DNA replication, and stress resistance in senescing human fibroblasts following oxidative stress. An immediate response in stressed cells was dephosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb) and cessation of DNA synthesis. This was followed by sequential induction of p53, p21, and p16. Increase in hypophosphorylated Rb and induction of p53 and p21 by a single stress treatment was transient, whereas sustained induction or dephosphorylation were achieved by a second stress. Down-regulation of the critical DNA replication initiation factor Cdc6 occurred early after stress concurring with p53 induction, and was followed by a decrease in Mcm2 levels. A late event in the stress-induced molecular sequence was the induction of SOD1, catalase, and HSP27 coinciding with development of the fully senescent phenotype. Our data suggest that loss of proliferative capacity in oxidatively stressed cells is a multistep process regulated by time-dependent molecular events that may play differential roles in induction and maintenance of cellular senescence.

Common senescent cell-specific antibody epitopes on fibronectin in species and cells of varied origin.

The phenomenon of in vitro cellular senescence has been demonstrated in cultured cells derived from humans and various other species. We have previously shown that monoclonal antibodies SEN-1, SEN-2, and SEN-3 react to epitopes on fibronectin that are exposed when human diploid fibroblasts become senescent. We here present results demonstrating that exposure of these epitopes is specific to senescence for a variety of human cells: epidermal keratinocytes, mammary epithelial cells, as well as fibroblasts. Fibronectin from 11 additional species was also analyzed by Western immunoblot for ability to bind the SEN antibodies. SEN-1 bound only human and gorilla fibronectin, whereas SEN-2 and SEN-3 bound fibronectin from those two species as well as the horse, cow, sheep, goat, dog, and chick. None of the antibodies reacted with fibronectin from the rabbit, rat, or mouse. These data indicated a correlation between the ability of the SEN antibodies to bind fibronectin from a particular species and the ability of cells from that species to exhibit a stable senescent phenotype in vitro. Therefore, exposure of this region of fibronectin may be important in the establishment and maintenance of cellular senescence. In addition, the ability of the SEN antibodies to react with fibronectin from a variety of senescent cells emphasizes their usefulness as markers for cellular senescence.