Cellular Senescence in Intervertebral Disc Aging and Degeneration

Purpose of review Age is a major risk factor for multiple disease pathologies, including chronic back pain, which stems from age-related degenerative changes to intervertebral disc tissue. Growing evidence suggests that the change in phenotype of disc cells to a senescent phenotype may be one of the major driving forces of age-associated disc degeneration. This review discusses the known stressors that promote development of senescence in disc tissue and the underlying molecular mechanisms disc cells adopt to enable their transition to a senescent phenotype.