[초청강연] Targeting senescence for healthy aging: current progress and future challenges

Targeting senescence for healthy aging: current progress and future challenges

Chanhee Kang1,2

1
School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University
2
Center for Systems Geroscience, Seoul National University

Aging is the most important single risk factor for various chronic diseases, including cancer, metabolic
syndrome, and neurodegenerative disorders. Targeting aging itself might, therefore, be an alternative
or even a better strategy in some circumstances than targeting each chronic disease individually for
enhancing human health. Recent progress indicates that cellular senescence is a fundamental process of
aging and a driver of many age-related pathologies. Senescence exerts these pro-aging effects via two

independent but not mutually exclusive mechanisms: (1) stem cells exhaustion and (2) senescence-
associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that causes chronic inflammation and tissue dysfunction. Much

effort has been recently made to therapeutically target detrimental effects of senescence termed
‘senotherapy’, including selectively eliminating senescent cells (senolytics) and modulating a
proinflammatory senescent secretome (senostatics or senomorphics). Here, I discuss the current
progress and limitations in developing and applying senotherapy and how to improve these crucial
strategies for healthy aging.