Irreversibility of cellular senescence: dual roles of p16INK4a/Rb-pathway in cell cycle control

Abstract

The retinoblastoma (Rb) tumor suppressor gene product, pRb, has an established role in the implementation of cellular senescence, the state of irreversible G1 cell cycle arrest provoked by diverse oncogenic stresses. In murine cells, senescence cell cycle arrest can be reversed by subsequent inactivation of pRb, indicating that pRb is required not only for the onset of cellular senescence, but also for the maintenance of senescence program in murine cells. However, in human cells, once pRb is fully activated by p16INK4a, senescence cell cycle arrest becomes irreversible and is no longer revoked by subsequent inactivation of pRb, suggesting that p16INK4a/Rb-pathway activates an alternative mechanism to irreversibly block the cell cycle in human senescent cells. Here, we discuss the molecular mechanism underlying the irreversibility of senescence cell cycle arrest and its potential towards tumor suppression.

Figure 1

The roles of p16^INK4a/RB-pathway in senescence cell cycle arrest. In proliferating cells, the effects of mitogenic signals in ROS production are counterbalanced by E2F/DP activity. However, when E2F/DP activity is shut down by fully activated pRb, mitogenic signaling, in turn, increases the level of ROS and elicits a positive feedback activation of ROS/PKC-δ signaling pathway. Elevated levels of p16^INK4a therefore establish an autonomous activation of ROS/PKC-δ signaling, leading to an irrevocable block to cytokinesis in human senescent cells.