Resumo

Objectives: 1: Understand the role of senescent cells in skin ageing 2: Discuss strategies and challenges for addressing senescent cell impact in skin ageing Introduction: As cells get older, they accumulate damage which, once it disrupts normal cell function, can lead to cellular senescence. In this state, cells are unable to divide, become larger and release many secretory factors, such as inflammatory cytokines, which can damage surrounding cells and tissue. There have now been a plethora of studies investigating the detrimental effects of senescent cells, although the ways in which such negative impacts can be ameliorated is less well known. Materials / method: We reviewed the literature to determine what is currently known about senescent cells in skin and approaches for addressing the consequence of their presence. In addition, we discuss our research in which we have screened compounds for their ability to target senescent skin cells in vitro with a view to provide anti-ageing benefits in skin; this approach offers a topical route for testing anti-ageing approaches towards senescent cells in human tissues. Results: Senomorphics offer one route to address the negative effects of senescent cells in skin by suppressing their secretion of detrimental factors that damage surrounding tissue. There are several known compounds that can clear senescent cells (known as senolytic compounds) although their use in clinic is still under evaluation. Early results from our research highlight the impact of laboratory conditions (cells and models) on the relevance of in vitro senescent cells to in vivo cells, and further work to understand the importance of this for clinical trials is required. Conclusion: Senescent cells accumulate with age in human skin but drivers of their formation and the exact characteristics of these cells is relatively unknown. Routes to address the presence and impact of these cells, such as senolytic and senomorphic compounds, have shown promise in in vitro tests but further studies are now required to determine how effective such compounds are on human skin in vivo.