Senescent cardiomyocytes contribute to cardiac dysfunction following myocardial infarction

Targeting cardiomyocyte cell cycle regulation in heart failure

Heart failure continues to be a significant global health concern, causing substantial morbidity and mortality. The limited ability of the adult heart to regenerate has posed challenges in finding effective treatments for cardiac pathologies. While various medications and surgical interventions have been used to improve cardiac function, they are not able to address the extensive loss of functioning cardiomyocytes that occurs during cardiac injury. As a result, there is growing interest in understanding how the cell cycle is regulated and exploring the potential for stimulating cardiomyocyte proliferation as a means of promoting heart regeneration. This review aims to provide an overview of current knowledge on cell cycle regulation and mechanisms underlying cardiomyocyte proliferation in cases of heart failure, while also highlighting established and novel therapeutic strategies targeting this area for treatment purposes.

Dental pulp stem cells ameliorate D-galactose-induced cardiac ageing in rats

Background

Ageing is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is linked to several alterations in cardiac structure and function, including left ventricular hypertrophy and increased cardiomyocyte volume, as well as a decline in the number of cardiomyocytes and ventricular dysfunction, emphasizing the pathological impacts of cardiomyocyte ageing. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are promising as a cellular therapeutic source due to their minimally invasive surgical approach and remarkable proliferative ability.

Aim

This study is the first to investigate the outcomes of the systemic transplantation of DPSCs in a D-galactose (D-gal)-induced rat model of cardiac ageing. Methods. Thirty 9-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly assigned into three groups: control, ageing (D-gal), and transplanted groups (D-gal + DPSCs). D-gal (300 mg/kg/day) was administered intraperitoneally daily for 8 weeks. The rats in the transplantation group were intravenously injected with DPSCs at a dose of 1 × 106 once every 2 weeks.

Results

The transplanted cells migrated to the heart, differentiated into cardiomyocytes, improved cardiac function, upregulated Sirt1 expression, exerted antioxidative effects, modulated connexin-43 expression, attenuated cardiac histopathological alterations, and had anti-senescent and anti-apoptotic effects.

Conclusion

Our results reveal the beneficial effects of DPSC transplantation in a cardiac ageing rat model, suggesting their potential as a viable cell therapy for ageing hearts.

Injury minimization after myocardial infarction: focus on extracellular vesicles

Despite improvements in clinical outcomes following acute myocardial infarction, mortality remains high, especially in patients with severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF <30%), emphasizing the need for effective cardioprotective strategies adjunctive to recanalization. Traditional cell therapy has shown equivocal success, shifting the focus to innovative cardioactive biologicals and cell mimetic therapies, particularly extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs, as carriers of non-coding RNAs and other essential biomolecules, influence neighbouring and remote cell function in a paracrine manner. Compared to cell therapy, EVs possess several clinically advantageous traits, including stability, ease of storage (enabling off-the-shelf clinical readiness), and decreased immunogenicity. Allogeneic EVs from mesenchymal and/or cardiac stromal progenitor cells demonstrate safety and potential efficacy in preclinical settings. This review delves into the translational potential of EV-based therapeutic approaches, specifically highlighting findings from large-animal studies, and offers a synopsis of ongoing early-stage clinical trials in this domain.

A Conversation with ChatGPT on Contentious Issues in Senescence and Cancer Research

Artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, such as Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT), have achieved a high degree of popularity within the scientific community due to their utility in providing evidence-based reviews of the literature. However, the accuracy and reliability of the information output and the ability to provide critical analysis of the literature, especially with respect to highly controversial issues, has generally not been evaluated. In this work, we arranged a question/answer session with ChatGPT regarding several unresolved questions in the field of cancer research relating to therapy-induced senescence (TIS), including the topics of senescence reversibility, its connection to tumor dormancy, and the pharmacology of the newly emerging drug class of senolytics. ChatGPT generally provided responses consistent with the available literature, although occasionally overlooking essential components of the current understanding of the role of TIS in cancer biology and treatment. Although ChatGPT, and similar AI platforms, have utility in providing an accurate evidence-based review of the literature, their outputs should still be considered carefully, especially with respect to unresolved issues in tumor biology. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Artificial Intelligence platforms have provided great utility for researchers to investigate biomedical literature in a prompt manner. However, several issues arise when it comes to certain unresolved biological questions, especially in the cancer field. This work provided a discussion with ChatGPT regarding some of the yet-to-be-fully-elucidated conundrums of the role of therapy-induced senescence in cancer treatment and highlights the strengths and weaknesses in utilizing such platforms for analyzing the scientific literature on this topic.

Interplay between Senescence and Macrophages in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: A Review of the Potential Role of GDF-15 and Klotho

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a critical health problem, with 700 million diagnoses expected worldwide by 2045. Uncontrolled high blood glucose levels can lead to serious complications, including diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Diabetes induces cardiovascular aging and inflammation, increasing cardiomyopathy risk. DCM is characterized by structural and functional abnormalities in the heart. Growing evidence suggests that cellular senescence and macrophage-mediated inflammation participate in the pathogenesis and progression of DCM. Evidence indicates that growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), a protein that belongs to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily, is associated with age-related diseases and exerts an anti-inflammatory role in various disease models. Although further evidence suggests that GDF-15 can preserve Klotho, a transmembrane antiaging protein, emerging research has elucidated the potential involvement of GDF-15 and Klotho in the interplay between macrophages-induced inflammation and cellular senescence in the context of DCM. This review explores the intricate relationship between senescence and macrophages in DCM while highlighting the possible contributions of GDF-15 and Klotho.

Cellular Senescence, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Their Link to Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), a group of disorders affecting the heart or blood vessels, are the primary cause of death worldwide, with an immense impact on patient quality of life and disability. According to the World Health Organization, CVD takes an estimated 17.9 million lives each year, where more than four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes. In the decades to come, an increased prevalence of age-related CVD, such as atherosclerosis, coronary artery stenosis, myocardial infarction (MI), valvular heart disease, and heart failure (HF) will contribute to an even greater health and economic burden as the global average life expectancy increases and consequently the world's population continues to age. Considering this, it is important to focus our research efforts on understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying CVD. In this review, we focus on cellular senescence and mitochondrial dysfunction, which have long been established to contribute to CVD. We also assess the recent advances in targeting mitochondrial dysfunction including energy starvation and oxidative stress, mitochondria dynamics imbalance, cell apoptosis, mitophagy, and senescence with a focus on therapies that influence both and therefore perhaps represent strategies with the most clinical potential, range, and utility.

Cardiovascular aging: spotlight on mitochondria

Mitochondria are cellular organelles critical for ATP production and are particularly relevant to cardiovascular diseases including heart failure, atherosclerosis, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and cardiomyopathies. With advancing age, even in the absence of clinical disease, mitochondrial homeostasis becomes disrupted (e.g., redox balance, mitochondrial DNA damage, oxidative metabolism, and mitochondrial quality control). Mitochondrial dysregulation leads to the accumulation of damaged and dysfunctional mitochondria, producing excessive reactive oxygen species and perpetuating mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, mitochondrial DNA, cardiolipin, and N-formyl peptides are potent activators of cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic inflammatory pathways. These age-related mitochondrial changes contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases. This review covers the impact of aging on mitochondria and links these mechanisms to therapeutic implications for age-associated cardiovascular diseases.

Quercetin and dasatinib, two powerful senolytics in age-related cardiovascular disease

Cellular senescence is characteristic of the development and progression of multiple age-associated diseases. Accumulation of senescent cells in the heart contributes to various age-related pathologies. Several compounds called senolytics have been designed to eliminate these cells within the tissues. In recent years, the use and study of senolytics increased, representing a promising field for finding accessible and safe therapies for cardiovascular disease (CVD) treatment. This mini-review discusses the changes in the aging heart and the participation of senescent cells in CVD, as well as the use of senolytics to prevent the progression of myocardial damage, mainly the effect of dasatinib and quercetin. In particular, the mechanisms and physiological effects of senolytics therapies in the aged heart are discussed.

Cellular senescence and kidney aging

Life expectancy is increasing worldwide, and by 2050 the proportion of the world's population over 65 years of age is estimated to surpass 1.5 billion. Kidney aging is associated with molecular and physiological changes that cause a loss of renal function and of regenerative potential. As the aging population grows, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms underlying these changes, as they increase the susceptibility to developing acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Various cellular processes and molecular pathways take part in the complex process of kidney aging. In this review, we will focus on the phenomenon of cellular senescence as one of the involved mechanisms at the crossroad of kidney aging, age-related disease, and CKD. We will highlight experimental and clinical findings about the role of cellular senescence in kidney aging and CKD. In addition, we will review challenges in senescence research and emerging therapeutic aspects. We will highlight the great potential of senolytic strategies for the elimination of harmful senescent cells to promote healthy kidney aging and to avoid age-related disease and CKD. This review aims to give insight into recent discoveries and future developments, providing a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on cellular senescence and anti-senescent therapies in the kidney field.

Identification and functional analysis of senescent cells in the cardiovascular system using omics approaches

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and senescent cells have emerged as key contributors to its pathogenesis. Senescent cells exhibit cell cycle arrest and secrete a range of proinflammatory factors, termed the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which promotes tissue dysfunction and exacerbates CVD progression. Omics technologies, specifically transcriptomics and proteomics, offer powerful tools to uncover and define the molecular signatures of senescent cells in cardiovascular tissue. By analyzing the comprehensive molecular profiles of senescent cells, omics approaches can identify specific genetic alterations, gene expression patterns, protein abundances, and metabolite levels associated with senescence in CVD. These omics-based discoveries provide insights into the mechanisms underlying senescence-induced cardiovascular damage, facilitating the development of novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, integration of multiple omics data sets enables a systems-level understanding of senescence in CVD, paving the way for precision medicine approaches to prevent or treat cardiovascular aging and its associated complications.