After treating a tumour with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, cells known as senescent cells can appear. These are cells that do not divide, are involved in the ageing process and are resistant to cell death, but are still metabolically active in the human body. When they accumulate, they can jeopardize the patients' recovery. Now, a UB-led study describes for the first time a molecular mechanism that could drive the design of strategies to eliminate senescent cells in cancer patients.
The study, published in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation , from the Nature group, is led by Professor Joan Montero, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona, and its first author is the researcher Clara Alcon. The study is based on the analysis of human senescent cells in a specific tumour model - melanoma, which affects skin cells known as melanocytes - and, more specifically, melanocytes exposed to chemotherapy or radiation.
Why can senescent cells survive?
Senescent cells can be caused by various mechanisms "such as exposure to chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat a tumour, as well as the accumulation of cell damage due to ageing", says UB professor Joan Montero, a former member of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Networking Biomedical Research Centre on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN).
