# Senescent-cell vaccine

A senescent-cell vaccine is an attempt to train your immune system to find and kill senescent ('zombie') cells, much like a cancer vaccine trains it against tumors. Suda and colleagues showed the idea in mice (2021, Nature Aging). They vaccinated mice with pieces of a protein called GPNMB, which sits on the surface of senescent cells. The mice made anti-GPNMB antibodies that selectively wiped out GPNMB-bearing senescent cells, lowered the senescent-cell load, improved physical function, and partly copied the healthspan benefits of senolytic drugs, in both accelerated-aging (Ercc1-mutant) and obese mouse models. This is very early-stage, though. GPNMB is not found only on senescent cells, so the risks of immune tolerance and autoimmunity have not been tested in people. No human trial has started. And it is unclear whether one target can cover the many different kinds of senescent cells across your tissues. This is a proof-of-concept, not a product you can get or one that is close.

## Sources

- Suda M, Shimizu I, Katsuumi G et al.. (2021). Senolytic vaccination improves normal and pathological age-related phenotypes and increases lifespan in progeroid mice. Nature Aging. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00151-2

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