부산대학교 도서관

Derailed cytokine and immune cell networks account for the organ damage and the clinical severity of COVID-19 (refs. .sup.1-4). Here we show that SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, evokes cellular senescence as a primary stress response in infected cells. Virus-induced senescence (VIS) is indistinguishable from other forms of cellular senescence and is accompanied by a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which comprises pro-inflammatory cytokines, extracellular-matrix-active factors and pro-coagulatory mediators.sup.5-7. Patients with COVID-19 displayed markers of senescence in their airway mucosa in situ and increased serum levels of SASP factors. In vitro assays demonstrated macrophage activation with SASP-reminiscent secretion, complement lysis and SASP-amplifying secondary senescence of endothelial cells, which mirrored hallmark features of COVID-19 such as macrophage and neutrophil infiltration, endothelial damage and widespread thrombosis in affected lung tissue.sup.1,8,9. Moreover, supernatant from VIS cells, including SARS-CoV-2-induced senescence, induced neutrophil extracellular trap formation and activation of platelets and the clotting cascade. Senolytics such as navitoclax and a combination of dasatinib plus quercetin selectively eliminated VIS cells, mitigated COVID-19-reminiscent lung disease and reduced inflammation in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters and mice. Our findings mark VIS as a pathogenic trigger of COVID-19-related cytokine escalation and organ damage, and suggest that senolytic targeting of virus-infected cells is a treatment option against SARS-CoV-2 and perhaps other viral infections. Virus-induced senescence is a central pathogenic feature in COVID-19, and senolytics, which promote apoptosis of senescent cells, can reduce disease severity in hamsters,mice, as well as humans infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Author(s): Soyoung Lee [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Yong Yu [sup.4] , Jakob Trimpert [sup.5] , Fahad Benthani [sup.4] , Mario Mairhofer [sup.4] , Paulina Richter-Pechanska [sup.1] , Emanuel Wyler [sup.2] [...]