Local delivery of tetramethylpyrazine eliminates the senescent phenotype of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells and creates an anti-inflammatory and angiogenic environment in aging mice.

Aging drives the accumulation of senescent cells (SnCs) including stem/progenitor cells in bone marrow, which contributes to aging-related bone degenerative pathologies. Local elimination of SnCs has been shown as potential treatment for degenerative diseases. As LepR mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSPCs) in bone marrow are the major population for forming bone/cartilage and maintaining HSCs niche, whether local elimination of senescent LepR MSPCs delays aging-related pathologies and improves local microenvironment need to be well defined. In this study, we performed local delivery of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) in bone marrow of aging mice, which previously showed to be used for the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). We found the increased accumulation of senescent LepR MSPCs in bone marrow of aging mice, and TMP significantly inhibited the cell senescent phenotype via modulating Ezh2-H3k27me3. Most importantly, local delivery of TMP improved bone marrow microenvironment and maintained bone homeostasis in aging mice by increasing metabolic and anti-inflammatory responses, inducing H-type vessel formation, and maintaining HSCs niche. These findings provide evidence on the mechanisms, characteristics and functions of local elimination of SnCs in bone marrow, as well as the use of TMP as a potential treatment to ameliorate human age-related skeletal diseases and to promote healthy lifespan.