Our body is composed of 40 trillion cells, and senescence of the cells
is thought to be a major cause of various age-related. We have succeeded
in developing senolytic drugs that can treat diseases by selectively removing
senescent cells, as well as in developing liposome nanocarriers that restores
cellular functions by inducing mitophagy in the diseased cells (caused
by cellular senescence) and eliminating damaged mitochondria.
Furthermore, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are believed to be able
to cure intractable diseases, and exosomes, which are secreted from these
cells, are expected to show extremely high therapeutic efficacy. However,
MSCs must be passively cultured in vitro before they can be used for therapy,
and it is known that MSCs (as well as exosomes) senescence during this
process. Our mitophagy-inducing nanocarrier, when administered to MSCs,
removes the damaged mitochondria in the senescent MSCs, thereby restoring
cell function and possibly rejuvenating the cells.