REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Stem Cell Research
This article is part of the Research TopicSkeletal Muscle Aging and Stem CellsView all articles
The Impact of Cellular Senescence on Aging Skeletal Muscle
Provisionally accepted
- McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
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Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue that relies on its resident muscle stem cell population, known as satellite cells (MuSC), for its timely repair and regeneration. During aging, there is a decline in muscle regenerative capacity that is largely attributed to the loss of MuSC content and function. These aberrations are thought to contribute to the aging-related decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength. Cellular senescence, which is characterized by a state of irreversible cell cycle arrest and the presence of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), has emerged as a potential factor in the dysfunction of MuSCs with aging. Much effort has recently been made to examine the detrimental effects of senescence on skeletal muscle as well as identify therapeutic approaches to selectively eliminate these cells and improve the aging phenotype. Here, we discuss the current understanding of aging-related MuSC impairments and the underlying mechanisms that link cellular senescence to the decline in muscle regenerative capacity.
Keywords: cellular senescence, Aging, skeletal muscle, Regeneration, satellite cells, SASP, senolytics
Received: 06 Oct 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kamal, Bevington, Johnson and Parise. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gianni Parise, pariseg@mcmaster.ca
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