Implication of senescence in giant cell arteritis

The pathogenic role of cellular senescence in the context of Giant Cell Artiritis (GCA), an age-related, autoinflammatory and autoimmune syndrome has not been addressed before. This study identified a high proportion of senescent cells (mainly fibroblasts and macrophages) with an inflammatory phenotype in GCA arteries. The presence of senescent cells was associated with the tissue inflammatory bulk via IL-6-dependent pathways, suggesting a potential implication of senescence in disease pathogenesis. These results set the ground for the use of senolytic treatments as a possible complementary strategy in the clinical management of GCA.