The senolytic drug combination of dasatinib and quercetin cleared senescent cells from obese mice in a study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota funded by NIA. When the senescent cells were removed, cell growth resumed in the brain regions involved in that process, also known as neurogenesis, and obesity-related anxiety behavior decreased.

Abstract cellsOver time, accumulation of senescent cells may slow or stop cell regeneration and tissue maintenance, thus contributing to tissue aging.

Clearing senescent cells from the brain and other tissues can delay, prevent, or alleviate multiple age-related disorders.

The combination of dasatinib and quercetin was recently shown to prevent cell damage, delay physical dysfunction, and, when used in naturally aging mice, extend their life span.

The researchers sought to determine whether anxiety-like behavior in obesity can be caused by increased senescent cell burden.

When the senescent cells had been eliminated from the mice brains, anxious behavior decreased and new nerve cell growth in the brain was detected.

The scientists note that the data show that senescent cells play a role in causing impaired cell growth due to obesity.