The term "post-mitotic" is sometimes used to refer to both quiescent and senescent cells.
However, it remains as the most widely used biomarker for senescent and aging cells, because it is reliable and easy to detect.
Today this phenomenon is explained by the overexpression and accumulation of the endogenous lysosomal beta-galactosidase specifically in senescent cells.
The investigators began asking why those senescent cells in the prostate glands had stopped dividing.
It was also shown that p16 is involved in the regulation of the cellular life span and accumulates in senescent cells.
Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death which is used by the body to remove unwanted, damaged or senescent cells from tissues.
Or they can be destroyed by gene therapy to introduce "suicide genes" that only kill senescent cells.
In a study conducted in 2011 on mice, senescent cells were deliberately eradicated, which led to greater resistance against aging-associated diseases.
Progerin may also play a role in normal human aging, since its production is activated in senescent wildtype cells.
He and colleagues also demonstrated that senescent cells cannot be "rescued" when their cytoplasm is mixed with cytoplasm from a normal young cell.