Cellular senescence is a permanent state of cell cycle arrest that promotes tissue remodeling during development and after injury, but can also contribute to the decline of the regenerative potential and function of tissues, to inflammation, and to tumorigenesis in aged organisms. Therefore, the identification, characterization, and pharmacological elimination of senescent cells have gained attention in the field of aging research. However, the nonspecificity of current senescence markers and the existence of different senescence programs strongly limit these tasks. Here, we describe the molecular regulators of senescence phenotypes and how they are used for identifying senescent cells in vitro and in vivo. We also highlight the importance that these levels of regulations have in the development of therapeutic targets.

细胞衰老是细胞周期停滞的永久状态，可促进发育过程中和损伤后的组织重塑，但也可能导致衰老生物体组织的再生潜力和组织功能下降，发炎和肿瘤发生。因此，衰老研究领域中衰老细胞的鉴定，表征和药理消除受到关注。然而，当前衰老标记的非特异性和不同衰老程序的存在强烈地限制了这些任务。在这里，我们描述了衰老表型的分子调节剂和它们是如何用于识别衰老细胞在体外和体内。我们还强调了这些水平的法规对制定治疗靶标的重要性。