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Length doesn't matter—telomere damage triggers cellular senescence in the ageing heart
Author(s) -
Brand Thomas
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.15252/embj.2019101571
Subject(s) - telomere , senescence , ageing , cellular senescence , biology , lung , cardiac fibrosis , fibrosis , cancer research , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , genetics , dna , phenotype , gene
Telomere shortening induces cellular senescence in proliferative cells. Yet, it is presently unclear how it is triggered in post‐mitotic cells such as cardiac myocytes. A new study by Anderson et al ([Anderson R, 2019]) reports that during ageing of the heart, cellular senescence develops independently of telomere length, but is evoked by DNA damage, which preferentially accumulates at the telomere. Removal of senescent cells using senolytic drugs ameliorated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and may inform novel approaches to improve the conditions for the ageing heart.