Cellular Senescence and Infection: Highlights from the 10th ICSA Conference (Rome 2025) | Aging-US

Aging-US #published this #trending meeting report on December 23, 2025, in Volume 17, Issue 12, entitled “Cellular senescence meets infection: highlights from the 10th annual International Cell Senescence Association (ICSA) conference, Rome 2025" by #researchers from Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany; Univ. Lille, CNRS, INSERM, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 9017 - CIIL - Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France; Department of Veterinary Medicine, Pathology Unit, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Foundation, 30559 Hannover, Germany; Centro Singular de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CIMUS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain; Instituto de Investigación de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain; AIDS and HIV Infection Group, Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomédiques August Pi i Sunyer (FRCB-IDIBAPS), 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain; The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), 34149 Trieste, Italy; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy; National Institute of Molecular Genetic (INGM), 20122 Milano, Italy; CAAD - Center for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Disease, University of Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy; Department of Translational Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy; Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences, University of Turin, Medical School, 10126 Turin, Italy. #aging #cellularsenescence #infection #inflammation #meetingreport #research #openaccess #openscience #peerreviewed #journal #publishing #meded DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206349 Corresponding authors: Stefanie Deinhardt-Emmer - Stefanie.deinhardt-emmer@med.uni-jena.de, and Marco De Andrea - marco.deandrea@unito.it Abstract At the 10th Annual International Cell Senescence Association (ICSA) Conference, held in Rome (Italy) from September 17–19, 2025, “senescence and infection” emerged as a recurring highlight linking diverse sessions across virology, immunology, and aging research. Presentations addressed virus-induced senescence in influenza A virus (IAV), SARS-CoV-2, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as bacterial infections such as Mycobacterium abscessus. Together, these studies have defined infection-driven senescence (IDS) as a critical biological process in both acute disease and long-term sequelae, connecting infectious pathology with mechanisms of aging and chronic inflammation. Mechanistically, IDS integrates DNA damage responses, inflammatory signaling, and metabolic stress, with consistent activation of p16INK4a, p21, and NF-κB pathways. Evidence across immune, epithelial, and neuronal systems have revealed that senescence contributes to impaired regeneration, persistent inflammation, and altered host–pathogen dynamics. Emerging therapeutic data suggest that senolytic or senomorphic strategies may alleviate infection-associated tissue damage. Collectively, the conference highlighted IDS as an expanding frontier that bridges infection biology and aging research, emphasizing its potential relevance for prevention and therapy of chronic age-related disease. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.206349 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging - https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts Keywords - aging, infection-driven senescence (IDS), senescence-associated inflammation, host-pathogen interactions, inflammation To learn more about the journal, please visit https://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us on social media at: Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/aging-us.bsky.social ResearchGate - https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Aging-1945-4589 X - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/AgingUS/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Aging-US Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1X4HQQgegjReaf6Mozn6Mc MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM