Cell ageing

Project overview

Human ageing is associated with gradual loss of tissue and organ function, with consequent frailty and illness leading to poor quality of later life for many older people. It is thought to result from a failure to repair the body as cells stop dividing and become senescent.

We investigated the causes of senescence at the very fundamental level of the genes involved and the proteins they encode. We did this using an experimental system in which we turned off an ageing-associated gene in normal human cells to induce senescence, and analysed the proteins that are altered as cells enter the senescent state.

Findings

Towards understanding the biological drivers of cell ageing (PDF, 801KB)

View all project findings.

Further information

For more information, read the full project details.