Mayo Clinic Scientists Uncover New Ways to Clear "Zombie Cells" in a Key Step for Aging Research

2026-10-28T19:49:49Z

BirchCreek: Scientists at Mayo Clinic have reported surprising new insights into "zombie cells" — aging cells that stop functioning properly but linger in the body instead of dying, where they contribute to inflammation and disease. According to the findings, se

== At a Glance ==

Scientists at Mayo Clinic have reported surprising new insights into "zombie cells" — aging cells that stop functioning properly but linger in the body instead of dying, where they contribute to inflammation and disease. According to the findings, seven studies explain why these cells are harmful and identify new strategies for targeting them, including a natural compound found in tomatoes. In aging mice, experimental treatments reduced inflammation and improved both physical and brain health. Researchers say the work could open the door to therapies that combat some of the biological processes behind aging.

At the center of the newly published research is a pair of linked advances: the identification of distinct subtypes of senescent cells across human and mouse aging tissues, and the discovery of a candidate biomarker — a molecule known as IL-23R — that may eventually allow scientists to measure aging-related changes in the body and check whether future treatments are actually working.

== Key Facts ==

The headline study, published in the journal ''Nature'' in 2026 (volume 656, issue 8129, page 980; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10791-2), is titled "Distinct senotypes in p16- and p21-positive cells across human and mouse aging tissues." In it, researchers mapped different "senotypes" — distinguishable forms of senescent cells — among cell populations marked by the proteins p16 and p21, comparing aging tissues taken from both humans and mice.

A closely related finding, described under the title "IL-23R is a senescence-linked circulating and tissue biomarker of aging," identifies IL-23R as a biomarker connected to cellular senescence that can be detected both in the bloodstream and in tissue. Researchers identified IL-23R as a potential tool that might eventually help scientists evaluate aging-related changes and determine whether future treatments are working.

Taken together, the seven studies describe why senescent cells are harmful and point to fresh strategies for targeting them. Among the approaches highlighted is a natural compound found in tomatoes. In experiments on aging mice, treatments built on these findings reduced inflammation and led to improvements in physical health and brain health.

== Impact and Interpretation ==

One of the longest-standing challenges in aging research is measurement. Scientists can observe senescent cells under a microscope, but tracking how many are present in a living body — and whether an intervention is reducing them — has been difficult. If IL-23R performs as the researchers hope, its presence in circulation as well as tissue could give scientists a practical, measurable signal of aging-related change. That would make it easier to evaluate whether an experimental therapy is doing anything at all, long before such therapies reach everyday medicine.

The senotype discovery also reframes how researchers think about the problem. Zombie cells are often described as a single hostile category, but the new work suggests they come in distinct subtypes, marked out by different proteins such as p16 and p21. If different subtypes behave differently and contribute to harm in different ways, future treatments may need to be tailored to specific subtypes rather than aimed at senescent cells as one undifferentiated group.

The findings from the mouse experiments — reduced inflammation alongside improvements in physical and brain health — suggest that the strategies identified in the seven studies have real biological effects. Still, the researchers' own framing is deliberately cautious: IL-23R "might eventually" help evaluate aging-related changes and future treatments, and results in aging mice are a step toward human therapies, not a guarantee of them.

== Related Background ==

Senescent cells, popularly nicknamed "zombie cells," are cells that have entered a state in which they stop dividing but do not die. Instead of clearing out, they can linger in tissues and release inflammatory signals, and their gradual accumulation is thought to contribute to inflammation and disease as the body ages. The proteins p16 and p21 are commonly used as markers to identify these cells, which is why the new study focuses specifically on "p16- and p21-positive" cell populations.

Clearing or neutralizing senescent cells, rather than simply tolerating them, has become a notable direction in aging research in recent years. Mayo Clinic has been among the institutions working on the problem, and the new body of work reflects how the field is maturing: the seven studies span explanations of why zombie cells are harmful, proposals for how to target them — including the natural compound found in tomatoes — and tools for measuring whether those targeting efforts succeed. That combination of mechanism, intervention, and measurement is what leads the researchers to describe the results as a meaningful step toward therapies that address some of the biological processes underlying aging.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

=== What is Mayo? ===

In this context, "Mayo" refers to Mayo Clinic, a United States-based academic medical institution that combines patient care with biomedical research. It is the institution whose scientists carried out the zombie-cell research described in this article, published in the journal ''Nature'' in 2026 (volume 656, issue 8129, page 980; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10791-2), according to the published study.

=== What are Mayo's latest changes? ===

The most recent development from Mayo Clinic researchers in this area is a set of seven studies on senescent cells. The key results include the identification of distinct senotypes in p16- and p21-positive cells across human and mouse aging tissues, and the identification of IL-23R as a senescence-linked circulating and tissue biomarker of aging — a potential marker that might eventually help evaluate aging-related changes and whether future treatments are working. The studies also point to new targeting strategies, including a natural compound found in tomatoes, with experiments in aging mice showing reduced inflammation and improved physical and brain health. These findings were published in ''Nature'' in 2026, per the journal citation above.

== References ==
* [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261025073049.htm Mayo Clinic discovers new ways to fight the “zombie” cells that drive aging | ScienceDaily]

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Mayo Clinic Scientists Uncover New Ways to Clear "Zombie Cells" in a Key Step for Aging Research