Senescence-Associated beta-Galactosidase Detection in Pathology

Activity of beta-galactosidase at pH 6 is a classic maker of senescence in cellular biology. Cellular senescence, a state of highly stable cell cycle arrest, is often compared to apoptosis as an intrinsic tumor suppression mechanism. It is also thought that SA-beta-gal is crucial in malignant cell transformation. High levels of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal) can be found in cancer and benign lesions of various localizations making the enzyme a highly promising diagnostic marker for visualization of tumor margins and metastases. These findings facilitate the research of therapy induced senescence as a promising therapeutic strategy. In this review, we address the need to collect and analyze the bulk of clinical and biological data on SA-beta-gal mechanisms of action to support wider implementation of this enzyme in medical diagnostics. The review will be of interest to pathologists, biologists, and biotechnologists investigating cellular senescence for purposes of regenerative medicine and oncology.