The Role of p16Ink4a as an Early Predictor of Physiological Decline during Natural Aging.

Cellular senescence is a prominent accomplice of aging. The expression of gene p16ink4a has been established as a biomarker of cellular senescence in humans and animal models. However, it has not been extensively studied in clinical settings in the context of natural aging and the development of age-related diseases.

Adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease exhibit accelerated aging with elevated T-cell p16 expression.

People living with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience complications indicative of an accelerated aging phenotype typified by early decline in physical function and increased risk for age-related conditions. Cellular senescence, measured by expression of p16 in peripheral T-lymphocytes, is recognized as one of the underlying contributors to organismal aging. To examine if cellular senescence is increased in SCD patients, we cross-sectionally measured and compared expression of p16 mRNA in peripheral blood T lymphocytes in 18 adolescents and young adults with SCD to 27 similarly aged individuals without SCD.

A Signature of Pre-Operative Biomarkers of Cellular Senescence to Predict Risk of Cardiac and Kidney Adverse Events after Cardiac Surgery.

Importance: Improved pre-operative risk stratification methods are needed for targeted risk mitigation and optimization of care pathways for cardiac patients. This is the first report demonstrating pre-operative, aging-related biomarkers of cellular senescence and immune system function can predict risk of common and serious cardiac surgery-related adverse events.

Design: Multi-center 331-patient cohort study that enrolled patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafing (CABG) surgery with 30-day follow-up.