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. 2023 Jun 15;133(12):e169922. doi: 10.1172/JCI169922

Figure 2. Pathological role of senescent cells in tissue dysfunction and chronic metabolic disease.

Figure 2

Cell senescence is a state of cell cycle arrest with senescent cells displaying characteristics such as being enlarged, flattened, and of irregular shape, elevated expression of p53, p21, p16, cyclin D1, and ZMAT3 proteins, increased lysosomal SA-β-gal activity, enhanced γ-H2AX phosphorylation, decreased mitochondrial content, decreased LMNB1 expression, and SASP acquisition. Increased accumulation of senescent cells in key metabolic tissues (liver, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle) promotes local tissue dysfunction and systemic deleterious effects with IR and the development of common age-related diseases such as T2D, NAFLD/NASH, and sarcopenia. FA, fatty acid.