Mayo Clinic aptamers target senescent 'zombie' cells

Mayo Clinic researchers said synthetic DNA molecules known as aptamers can pick out senescent “zombie” cells from healthy cells in mouse systems, offering a new way to study a cell type tied to aging and disease. The work was described in a Mayo Clinic release dated May 15, 2026 and in a paper published in Aging Cell. The authors said the approach could help researchers identify senescent cells in living tissue with greater precision, though the experiments reported so far were in mouse cells and tissues. Jim Maher, a Mayo biochemist and molecular biologist, said in the release that the study established the principle that aptamers can distinguish senescent cells from healthy ones. ### What exactly did the Mayo team build? Aptamers are short strands of synthetic DNA that fold into three-dimensional shapes and bind to specific molecular targets, the Mayo release said. In this study, the researchers used cell-based selection methods to search large libraries of random DNA sequences for aptamers that would attach to senescent cells rather than non-senescent counterparts. The paper’s title describes the resulting molecules as “senescent cell-specific reagents.” (sciencedaily.com) The Aging Cell paper said the team worked with senescent mouse adult fibroblasts and non-senescent controls. The authors wrote that the field still lacks a single universal marker for cellular senescence and often relies on combinations of markers instead. Their method, they said, was designed as an “unbiased” way to find DNA binders that recognize senescent cells directly. (sciencedaily.com) ### How did they find the molecules? The Mayo release said the researchers screened more than 100 trillion random DNA sequences before identifying several rare aptamers that bound proteins associated with senescent cells. Once attached, the aptamers flagged those cells for identification, according to the release. The paper’s abstract said two selected aptamers bound a form of fibronectin, a protein in the extracellular matrix, and that the team observed specificity for senescent mouse cells in culture. (biorxiv.org) The authors also reported increased aptamer staining in naturally aged mouse tissues. ### Did the study show cell killing or only detection? The published paper supports detection and selective binding, not a finished therapy. (sciencedaily.com) The abstract says the researchers identified senescence-specific DNA reagents, demonstrated specificity in culture, and showed staining changes in aged tissues and in a transgenic INK-ATTAC mouse model when p16-expressing cells were removed. (biorxiv.org) Maher said in the Mayo release that the work was a first step and suggested the approach could eventually apply to human cells. The release also said aptamers that latch onto senescent cells could, in future studies, be used to deliver therapies directly to those cells, but it did not present that as a completed result in this paper. (biorxiv.org) ### Who did the work, and where was it published? The paper lists Keenan S. Pearson, Sarah K. Jachim, Caroline D. Doherty, Brandon A. Wilbanks, Luis I. Prieto, Maria Dugan, Darren J. Baker, Nathan K. LeBrasseur and L. James Maher III as authors. Their affiliations include Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minnesota, the Kogod Center on Aging at Mayo Clinic and related Mayo departments, according to the paper. (newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org) Mayo’s release said the project began with a conversation between graduate students Pearson and Jachim, who were working in different Mayo labs on aptamers and senescent cells. The journal article is listed in PMC as Aging Cell, published in 2025 with DOI 10.1111/acel.70245. ### What happens next? The Mayo release said additional studies will be needed to find aptamers that can identify senescent cells in humans. (biorxiv.org) The published paper and Mayo materials now provide the methods, author list and experimental framework other researchers can use to test whether the same strategy extends beyond mouse models. (newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org) (sciencedaily.com)