Fig. 1.

Atherosclerosis and senescence. The accumulation of senescent cells occurs early in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and involves multiple cell types. Endothelial cells exposed to disturbed flow at arterial branch points develop changes characteristic of senescence. These changes include the development of a pro‐inflammatory SASP and expression of vascular adhesion molecules which attract inflammatory cells to the vessel wall and accelerates the development of atherosclerotic plaques. Macrophages within the tunica media become senescent when exposed to oxidized LDL leading to further release of a pro‐fibrotic and inflammatory SASP. Senescent cells within the fibrous cap of atherosclerotic lesions produce extracellular matrix remodelling enzymes as part of the SASP which increase the vulnerability to plaque rupture leading to cardiovascular complications. (Figure created with BioRender.com).