Dr. Jeffrey Gladden proposes that intracellular microbes may drive senescent cells, which accumulate with age. These pathogens could exploit aging cells for protection and nutrients, suggesting a direct link between infection and how our cells age.
I had a theory, and I'm finding growing evidence that senescent cells, they're unwantable, undesirable cells that collect in our system. I was researching, well, is there a microbe connection? And it turns out, yeah, pretty strong. In fact, even enough for me to theorize that one of the things that happens with senescent cells is these intracellular pathogens are actually overcoming the cell because that's their protection and their food supply, their basic So there's some evidence that the microbes may be actually a factor creating and perpetuating senescent cells.
