Cellular senescence in neuroinflammatory disease: new therapies for old cells?

Abstract

Neuroinflammatory diseases remain a therapeutic challenge, notably when progressing towards neurodegeneration. In this context, multiple sclerosis represents a central nervous system (CNS) disorder that combines pathogenic inflammatory and degenerative processes. Immunosuppression is effective for managing inflammatory activity, but neurodegenerative processes secondary to chronic inflammation are often refractory to contemporary treatments. Recent evidence indicates that pathways involved in chronic neuroinflammation demonstrate features of cellular senescence. These features could provide a framework that could serve as a target for senotherapeutics. In this review, we discuss the unmet need for strategies capable of overcoming the treatment resistance of neuroinflammatory diseases, and we discuss the potential of cellular senescence towards developing these strategies.

Keywords: cellular senescence; neuroinflammation; senescence; senescence-associated secretory phenotype; senolytics; senotherapeutic.