Senescent cells in human adipose tissue: A cross-sectional study

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Objective Adipose tissue (AT) senescence is associated with AT dysfunction in rodents, but little is known about human AT senescence. The study goal was to define the distribution of senescent cells in two subcutaneous depots and understand relationships with adiposity and inflammation. Methods Sixty-three volunteers (48 females) underwent abdominal and femoral subcutaneous fat biopsies. Fat cell size, senescent cells using senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining per 100 nucleated cells (percentage), and mRNA expression of four cytokines were measured. Results There was a larger proportion of senescent cells in femoral than abdominal subcutaneous AT (mean difference 1.6% [95% CI: 0.98%-2.3%], p s = 0.44, p s = 0.35, p = 0.007) AT depots. Abdominal AT tumor necrosis factor alpha (r s = 0.49, p s = 0.44, p = 0.01) expression was positively correlated with abdominal, but not femoral, AT senescence. Conclusions In human subcutaneous AT, there are more senescent cells in femoral than abdominal depots; abdominal AT senescent cells are more associated with inflammatory signals than femoral AT senescent cells.

Evidence level

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

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