# Long-term treatment with senolytic drugs Dasatinib and Quercetin ameliorates age-dependent intervertebral disc degeneration in mice

Article · Novais EJ, Tran VA, Johnston SN, Darris KR, Roupas AJ, Sessions GA, Shapiro IM, Diekman BO, Risbud MV

- Archive id: doi:10.1038/s41467-021-25453-2
- Published: 2021-09-03
- Venue: Nature communications
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25453-2
- PMID: 34480023
- PMCID: PMC8417260
- Citations: 376
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25453-2
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC8417260/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## Abstract

Intervertebral disc degeneration is highly prevalent within the elderly population and is a leading cause of chronic back pain and disability. Due to the link between disc degeneration and senescence, we explored the ability of the Dasatinib and Quercetin drug combination (D + Q) to prevent an age-dependent progression of disc degeneration in mice. We treated C57BL/6 mice beginning at 6, 14, and 18 months of age, and analyzed them at 23 months of age. Interestingly, 6- and 14-month D + Q cohorts show lower incidences of degeneration, and the treatment results in a significant decrease in senescence markers p16 INK4a , p19 ARF , and SASP molecules IL-6 and MMP13. Treatment also preserves cell viability, phenotype, and matrix content. Although transcriptomic analysis shows disc compartment-specific effects of the treatment, cell death and cytokine response pathways are commonly modulated across tissue types. Results suggest that senolytics may provide an attractive strategy to mitigating age-dependent disc degeneration.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Biology of Aging & Longevity](https://space-kitty.com/topics/aging-longevity)

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