Adams Peter D
W446, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA.
Gene. 2007 Aug 1;397(1-2):84-93. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2007.04.020. Epub 2007 May 1.
Cellular senescence is an important tumor suppression process, and a possible contributor to tissue aging. Senescence is accompanied by extensive changes in chromatin structure. In particular, many senescent cells accumulate specialized domains of facultative heterochromatin, called Senescence-Associated Heterochromatin Foci (SAHF), which are thought to repress expression of proliferation-promoting genes, thereby contributing to senescence-associated proliferation arrest. This article reviews our current understanding of the structure, assembly and function of these SAHF at a cellular level. The possible contribution of SAHF to tumor suppression and tissue aging is also critically discussed.
细胞衰老 是一种重要的肿瘤抑制过程,也是组织衰老的一个可能因素。衰老伴随着染色质结构的广泛变化。特别是,许多衰老细胞积累了兼性异染色质的特殊结构域,称为衰老相关异染色质灶(SAHF),据认为这些结构域可抑制促进增殖基因的表达,从而导致衰老相关的增殖停滞。本文综述了我们目前在细胞水平上对这些SAHF的结构、组装和功能的理解。还对SAHF在肿瘤抑制和组织衰老中的可能作用进行了批判性讨论。