LAUSR

There is increasing evidence that senescent cells are a driving force behind many age-related pathologies and that their selective elimination increases the life- and healthspan of mice. Senescent cells negatively affect their surrounding tissue by losing their cell specific functionality and by secreting a pro-tumorigenic and pro-inflammatory mixture of growth hormones, chemokines, cytokines and proteases, termed the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Here we identified an extract from the plant Solidago virgaurea subsp. alpestris, which exhibited weak senolytic activity, delayed the acquisition of a senescent phenotype and induced a papillary phenotype with improved functionality in human dermal fibroblasts. When administered to stress-induced premature senescent fibroblasts, this extract changed their global mRNA expression profile and particularly reduced the expression of various SASP components, thereby ameliorating the negative influence on nearby cells. Thus, the investigated plant extract represents a promising possibility to block age-related loss of tissue functionality.Skin aging: Plant extract blocks negative effects of senescenceA plant extract from the goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) ameliorates the negative influence of senescent cells, which accumulate in the skin with aging and create a tissue environment that leads to an impaired skin structure and contributes to tumour formation. Ingo Lämmermann and a team of scientists under the lead of Johannes Grillari at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, screened several plant extracts for their potential to attenuate such detrimental effects of senescent cells on the skin. One extract from S. virgaurea indeed delayed the aging process of skin cells in vitro and reduced the secretion of tumour promoting molecules and pro-inflammatory factors, thereby ameliorating the negative influence on nearby cells. Thus, the investigated plant extract represents a promising possibility to block the age-associated loss of tissue functionality in human skin.