Mapping the core senescence phenotype of primary human colon fibroblasts.

Advanced age is the largest risk factor for many diseases and several types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Senescent cells are known to accumulate with age in various tissues, where they can modulate the surrounding tissue microenvironment through their senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Recently, we showed that there is an increased number of senescent cells in the colons of CRC patients and demonstrated that senescent fibroblasts and their SASP create microniches in the colon that are conducive to CRC onset and progression.