MicroRNAs as a novel cellular senescence regulator

Cellular senescence is a program activated in normal cells in response to various types of stresses and is manifested by permanent arrest of cell cycle. Cellular senescence is closely related to tumor suppression, and may contribute to the ageing of organisms. The complex senescence cell phenotype has many different mechanisms. Recent studies have provided important insights regarding the role played by miRNAs during cellular senescence as a novel molecular mechanism. In this article, we will review the latest advances in the identification and validation of senescence-regulatory miRNAs and the possible mechanisms.

► We review the senescence-related miRNAs identified by recent studies and try to explore the specific mechanism. We classify them into 2 types, the explicit senescence pathway-associated miRNAs and the others .We also realize the potential cell extrinsic function of miRNAs in regulating cellular senescene and make a simple introduction about this.