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This review proposes mesenchymal drift as a unifying framework for understanding aging at the cellular level. The concept describes how cells progressively lose their specialized tissue identity and acquire generic mesenchymal characteristics over time. This process interconnects and amplifies the established hallmarks of aging, creating a molecular network that contributes to multiple age-related diseases.
Why it matters
Understanding mesenchymal drift as a convergent mechanism could enable development of therapies that target multiple aging pathways simultaneously rather than addressing individual age-related conditions separately. This framework may identify intervention points to restore cellular identity and potentially counter several age-related pathologies at once.
Aging is marked by a systemic loss of tissue homeostasis. This review focuses on mesenchymal drift, where cells progressively lose lineage identity and acquire mesenchymal traits, as a convergent framework that integrates and fuels the hallmarks of aging, forming a potentially targetable molecular network to restore identity and counter multiple age-related pathologies.
Source: Mesenchymal drift: A convergent framework for the hallmarks of aging