Cellular senescence as a stress response

Purpose: This review discusses cellular senescence, the state in which normal cells do not respond to growth stimuli, and shows characteristic alterations in their cytologic and biochemical properties and their gene expression profiles. Methods and Results: Cellular senescence is elicited by various stresses. It was recently shown that the stress-induced nitogen-activated protein kinase p38 has a pivotal role in inducing cellular senescence. This finding provided biochemical evidence to support the notion that cellular senescence is a kind of stress response. Conclusion: Stress responses are typically found in cells and organisms Surviving unfavorable environmental conditions. It can be argued that cellular senescence is an adaptive process that maintains the cell's viability by reducing the energy consumed for reproduction (ie, cell division) and differentiation-related activities.