AUTHOR=Fraile-Martinez Oscar , De Leon-Oliva Diego , Boaru Diego Liviu , De Castro-Martinez Patricia , Garcia-Montero Cielo , Barrena-Blázquez Silvestra , García-García Joaquin , García-Honduvilla Natalio , Alvarez-Mon Melchor , Lopez-Gonzalez Laura , Diaz-Pedrero Raul , Guijarro Luis G. , Ortega Miguel A. TITLE=Connecting epigenetics and inflammation in vascular senescence: state of the art, biomarkers and senotherapeutics JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=15 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1345459 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2024.1345459 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=

Vascular diseases pose major health challenges, and understanding their underlying molecular mechanisms is essential to advance therapeutic interventions. Cellular senescence, a hallmark of aging, is a cellular state characterized by cell-cycle arrest, a senescence-associated secretory phenotype macromolecular damage, and metabolic dysregulation. Vascular senescence has been demonstrated to play a key role in different vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, peripheral arterial disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, chronic venous disease, and venous ulcers. Even though cellular senescence was first described in 1961, significant gaps persist in comprehending the epigenetic mechanisms driving vascular senescence and its subsequent inflammatory response. Through a comprehensive analysis, we aim to elucidate these knowledge gaps by exploring the network of epigenetic alterations that contribute to vascular senescence. In addition, we describe the consequent inflammatory cascades triggered by these epigenetic modifications. Finally, we explore translational applications involving biomarkers of vascular senescence and the emerging field of senotherapy targeting this biological process.