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. 2021 Jan;20(1):e13294.
doi: 10.1111/acel.13294. Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Is exercise a senolytic medicine? A systematic review

Xiang-Ke Chen  1 , Zhen-Ni Yi  2 , Gordon Tin-Chun Wong  3 , Kazi Md Mahmudul Hasan  2 , Joseph Shiu-Kwong Kwan  4 , Alvin Chun-Hang Ma  2 , Raymond Chuen-Chung Chang  1   5
Affiliations

Is exercise a senolytic medicine? A systematic review

Xiang-Ke Chen et al. Aging Cell. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Cellular senescence, a state of irreversible growth arrest triggered by various stressors, engages in a category of pathological processes, whereby senescent cells accumulate in mitotic tissues. Senolytics as novel medicine against aging and various diseases through the elimination of senescent cells has emerged rapidly in recent years. Exercise is a potent anti-aging and anti-chronic disease medicine, which has shown the capacity to lower the markers of cellular senescence over the past decade. However, whether exercise is a senolytic medicine for aging and various diseases remains unclear. Here, we have conducted a systematic review of the published literature studying the senolytic effects of exercise or physical activity on senescent cells under various states in both human and animal models. Exercise can reduce the markers of senescent cells in healthy humans, while it lowered the markers of senescent cells in obese but not healthy animals. The discrepancy between human and animal studies may be due to the relatively small volume of research and the variations in markers of senescent cells, types of cells/tissues, and health conditions. These findings suggest that exercise has senolytic properties under certain conditions, which warrant further investigations.

Keywords: cellular senescence; exercise; senescent cells; senolytic medicine; senolytics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA flowchart of search strategy
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Forest plots of the meta‐analysis for the effect of exercise on the level of p16INK4a in human studies. A: association of habitual exercise and the level of p16INK4a in T lymphocyte with subgroup analysis. (a) healthy participants; (b) patients. B: the effect of exercise training on p16INK4a
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Forest plots of the subgroup meta‐analysis for effect of exercise on the level of p21Cip1 in healthy and young animals. Subgroup by healthy states: (a) health; (b) aging; (c) high‐fat‐diet (HFD)‐induced obesity. Schafer et al. (2016) a‐h (various organs and tissues): a, visceral fat; b, subcutaneous fat; c, liver; d, gastrocnemius (muscle); e, pancreas; f, kidney; g, heart; h, aorta
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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