Key points from article :
Senescent cells are biochemical waste factories that accumulate with age or with cancer treatments.
They release a toxic chemical soup, SASP, which contributes to aging.
Senescent cells have a weakness: their survival is regulated by a protein pair.
Verteporfin, an FDA-approved drug to treat eye disease, inhibits this process and kills senescent cells.
The drug works by targeting the zombie cells' endoplasmic reticulum, their shipping center.
In elderly mice, verteporfin improved kidney, liver, and lung function.
Tapping into a zombie cell's unique vulnerabilities is a new strategy in the development of senolytics.
Study led by Myriam Gorospe from National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Nature Aging.
