Scientists at The Wistar Institute discovered a novel pathway that enables detection of DNA in the cytoplasm and triggers inflammation and cellular senescence. This pathway may be modulated during senescence-inducing chemotherapy to affect cancer cell response to checkpoint inhibitors. Results were published online in Nature Communications.
Cellular senescence is a natural tumor suppression mechanism that stably halts proliferation of damaged or premalignant cells. Senescent cells also represent a trigger of inflammation and immune reaction as they produce an array of inflammatory molecules collectively known as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).
