Cell Senescence in Musculoskeletal Pathology and Associated Pain

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 8628

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
Interests: senescence; intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration; IVD regeneration; mechanobiology; pain; osteoarthritis; aging; cancer; molecular markers of degeneration; markers of early disc degeneration and osteoarthritis; low back pain; scoliosis; apoptosis; inflammation; SASP factors; senolytics; senomorphics, natural senolytics; senescence-associated pathways; mechanisms of cellular senescence; extracellular matrix composition in normal and pathophysiological conditions; novel therapeutic interventions for degenerative and painful IVD degeneration

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada
Interests: cell and molecular biology; pharmacology; senescence; intervertebral disc degeneration; low back pain; senotherapeutics; scRNA sequencing; natural compounds; drug development; neuroscience; cancer biology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue “Cell Senescence in Musculoskeletal Pathology and Associated Pain” is being prepared for the journal Biomolecules.

There is growing recognition that senescent cells accumulate during connective tissue ageing and degeneration, where they contribute directly to musculoskeletal disorders. They accumulate due to successive shortening of telomere length during replicative cycles or prematurely due to stressors, including DNA damaging agents, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, load-induced injury, and disruption of epigenetic regulation. Stress-induced premature senescence is prominent in degenerating musculoskeletal disease even in younger individuals under painful conditions. Senescent cells are resistant to apoptosis and, in addition to changes in their replicative status, release an array of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and proteases collectively known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The inflammatory environment triggered by senescent cells prevents adjacent cells from maintaining tissue homeostasis, and it is proposed to induce senescence in a paracrine manner, thus exacerbating tissue deterioration. All senescent cells share these general features, but there are distinct differences in SASP and in anti-apoptotic pathways linked to cell type, species, and the inducer of senescence. Their functional role in connective tissue homeostasis has sparked interest in researching the complex pathways and intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli controlling senescence and in the development of novel treatment options targeting senescent cells. Original manuscripts and reviews addressing aspects of cellular senescence and senotherapeutics for musculoskeletal pathology and associated pain are very welcome for submission to the Special Issue.

This Special Issue aims to collect original research articles and reviews that provide insights into the causes and consequences related to senescent cells in musculoskeletal pathology and associated pain that can be applied toward the development of therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Lisbet Haglund
Dr. Hosni Cherif
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4968 KiB  
Article
Senolytic Combination Treatment Is More Potent Than Single Drugs in Reducing Inflammatory and Senescence Burden in Cells from Painful Degenerating IVDs
by Matthew Mannarino, Oliver Wu-Martinez, Kai Sheng, Li Li, Rodrigo Navarro-Ramirez, Peter Jarzem, Jean A. Ouellet, Hosni Cherif and Lisbet Haglund
Biomolecules 2023, 13(8), 1257; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13081257 - 16 Aug 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2864
Abstract
Background: Low back pain is a global health problem directly related to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Senolytic drugs (RG-7112 and o-Vanillin) target and remove senescent cells from IVDs in vitro, improving tissue homeostasis. One drawback of using a single senolytic agent is the [...] Read more.
Background: Low back pain is a global health problem directly related to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Senolytic drugs (RG-7112 and o-Vanillin) target and remove senescent cells from IVDs in vitro, improving tissue homeostasis. One drawback of using a single senolytic agent is the failure to target multiple senescent antiapoptotic pathways. This study aimed to determine if combining the two senolytic drugs, o-Vanillin and RG-7112, could more efficiently remove senescent cells and reduce the release of inflammatory factors and pain mediators in cells from degenerating human IVDs than either drug alone. Methods: Preliminary data evaluating multiple concentrations of o-Vanillin and RG-7112 led to the selection of four treatment groups. Monolayer and pellet cultures of cells from painful degenerate IVDs were exposed to TLR-2/6 agonist. They were then treated with the senolytics o-Vanillin and RG7112 alone or combined. p16ink4a, Ki-67, caspase-3, inflammatory mediators, and neuronal sprouting were assessed. Results: Compared to the single treatments, the combination of o-Vanillin and RG-7112 significantly reduced the amount of senescent IVD cells, proinflammatory cytokines, and neurotrophic factors. Moreover, both single and combination treatments significantly reduced neuronal sprouting in rat adrenal pheochromocytoma (PC-12 cells). Conclusions: Combining o-Vanillin and RG-7112 greatly enhanced the effect of either senolytic alone. Together, these results support the potential of senolytics as a promising treatment for IVD-related low back pain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Senescence in Musculoskeletal Pathology and Associated Pain)
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Review

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30 pages, 2180 KiB  
Review
Cellular Senescence in Intervertebral Disc Aging and Degeneration: Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutic Opportunities
by Prashanta Silwal, Allison M. Nguyen-Thai, Haneef Ahamed Mohammad, Yanshan Wang, Paul D. Robbins, Joon Y. Lee and Nam V. Vo
Biomolecules 2023, 13(4), 686; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13040686 - 18 Apr 2023
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 5260
Abstract
Closely associated with aging and age-related disorders, cellular senescence (CS) is the inability of cells to proliferate due to accumulated unrepaired cellular damage and irreversible cell cycle arrest. Senescent cells are characterized by their senescence-associated secretory phenotype that overproduces inflammatory and catabolic factors [...] Read more.
Closely associated with aging and age-related disorders, cellular senescence (CS) is the inability of cells to proliferate due to accumulated unrepaired cellular damage and irreversible cell cycle arrest. Senescent cells are characterized by their senescence-associated secretory phenotype that overproduces inflammatory and catabolic factors that hamper normal tissue homeostasis. Chronic accumulation of senescent cells is thought to be associated with intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) in an aging population. This IDD is one of the largest age-dependent chronic disorders, often associated with neurological dysfunctions such as, low back pain, radiculopathy, and myelopathy. Senescent cells (SnCs) increase in number in the aged, degenerated discs, and have a causative role in driving age-related IDD. This review summarizes current evidence supporting the role of CS on onset and progression of age-related IDD. The discussion includes molecular pathways involved in CS such as p53-p21CIP1, p16INK4a, NF-κB, and MAPK, and the potential therapeutic value of targeting these pathways. We propose several mechanisms of CS in IDD including mechanical stress, oxidative stress, genotoxic stress, nutritional deprivation, and inflammatory stress. There are still large knowledge gaps in disc CS research, an understanding of which will provide opportunities to develop therapeutic interventions to treat age-related IDD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Senescence in Musculoskeletal Pathology and Associated Pain)
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