Heart HealthSenolytics and Exercise Both Clear Aging Heart Cells and Restore Cardiac Function
Researchers at McMaster and Brock universities treated middle-aged mice for 9 months with the senolytic drug combination dasatinib + quercetin, aerobic exercise, or both, then compared them to naturally aged and young controls. All three interventions significantly reduced the proportion of senescent cardiomyocytes and interstitial cells — marked by p16, p21, and γ-H2AX — and improved key measures of diastolic function and myocardial performance. Ejection fraction and fractional shortening also improved versus naturally aged mice. Surprisingly, combining senolytics with exercise did not produce an additive benefit over either alone. Whole-heart protein levels of p16 and p21 rose with age but were not lowered by any treatment, suggesting cellular-level clearance without global protein normalization. The findings position both approaches as viable long-term cardiac aging interventions.
