Which and when are senescent cells beneficial and detrimental?

Determine the contexts, tissue environments, and time windows in which senescent cells exert beneficial versus detrimental effects, and delineate the mechanisms underlying these effects.

Background

Cellular senescence is implicated in both physiological processes (e.g., wound healing) and pathological ageing. Clarifying context-dependence is critical for therapeutic targeting.

The authors include this as a prominent open problem reflecting active debate on the dual roles of senescent cells.