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Review
. 2019 Oct;62(10):1835-1841.
doi: 10.1007/s00125-019-4934-x. Epub 2019 Aug 27.

Cellular senescence: at the nexus between ageing and diabetes

Allyson K Palmer  1 , Birgit Gustafson  2 , James L Kirkland  3 , Ulf Smith  4
Affiliations
Review

Cellular senescence: at the nexus between ageing and diabetes

Allyson K Palmer et al. Diabetologia. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Ageing and diabetes lead to similar organ dysfunction that is driven by parallel molecular mechanisms, one of which is cellular senescence. The abundance of senescent cells in various tissues increases with age, obesity and diabetes. Senescent cells have been directly implicated in the generation of insulin resistance. Recently, drugs that preferentially target senescent cells, known as senolytics, have been described and recently entered clinical trials. In this review, we explore the biological links between ageing and diabetes, specifically focusing on cellular senescence. We summarise the current data on cellular senescence in key target tissues associated with the development and clinical phenotypes of type 2 diabetes and discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting cellular senescence in diabetes.

Keywords: Ageing; Cellular senescence; Dasatinib; Diabetes; Geroscience; Life course development; Quercetin; Review; Senolytics; Type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

JLK and AKP have a financial interest related to this research. Patents on senolytic drugs are held by Mayo Clinic. This research has been reviewed by the Mayo Clinic and Buck Institute Conflict of Interest Review Boards and was conducted in compliance with Mayo Clinic and Buck Institute Conflict of Interest policies. Neither of the other two authors has a relevant conflict of financial interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conditions associated with both advanced age and diabetes. This figure is available as part of a downloadable slideset
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Consequences of fundamental ageing processes. ICU, intensive care unit; MCI, mild cognitive impairment. This figure is available as part of a downloadable slideset
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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