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If a B cell becomes senescent it isn't going to be contributing contributing to your immune response in any event. In general a senescent cell represents a cel

If a B cell becomes senescent it isn't going to be contributing contributing to your immune response in any event. In general a senescent cell represents a cell that failed at apoptosis when it was supposed to kill itself, going in and having the immune system finish the job won't hurt anything. That is, assuming that the vaccine works in humans and doesn't have unwanted side effects, which is very much a possibility at this stage.

hinkley 5y ago
I think that depends on utility. If the senescent cells are functionally useless, then culling them should have few consequences (although your liver and kidneys might object to having that many cells being cleaned up at once). But if they are still sort of functioning in their primary or secondary functions (eg, structural integrity) then disappearing them all at once becomes a problem.
- Symmetry 5y ago
  It's true that suddenly having a whole bunch of senescent cells killed at once could cause big problems. But the number of cells that become senescent is a small fraction of the cells that manage to off themselves the way evolution intended. If this is a problem it's a problem we're continually enduring and which won't be much worsened by the drug.
  - hinkley 5y ago
    When you’re 11 this is true but the whole idea with this theory of aging is that the old cells pile up, and getting some cell division rejuvenates the tissues. Cell division is controlled by feedback mechanisms based in part on intracellular pressures. That’s how your finger knows to fill in a cut. Lose some tissue, trigger division. So if you’re a tech billionaire who has noticed laugh or worry lines while checking out your hair transplants in the mirror, your body is already full of targets for this treatment. And the treatment is a vaccine. You can’t titrate a vaccine the way you can an SSRI, ramping up slowly to a full dose. Or none that I know of, so your whole body is going to be devouring itself many times faster than it normally does. You will probably develop a fever and feel weird for a moment, and your disposal systems for spare materials might be overwhelmed, like with rhabdo (mass muscle cell death leading to protein poisoning and kidney failure). I wonder if this is a case where antibodies should be administered intravenously over the course of days followed by the vaccine to make it permanent if your body handles it well.

hinkley 5y ago

I think that depends on utility. If the senescent cells are functionally useless, then culling them should have few consequences (although your liver and kidneys might object to having that many cells being cleaned up at once). But if they are still sort of functioning in their primary or secondary functions (eg, structural integrity) then disappearing them all at once becomes a problem.

Symmetry 5y ago
It's true that suddenly having a whole bunch of senescent cells killed at once could cause big problems. But the number of cells that become senescent is a small fraction of the cells that manage to off themselves the way evolution intended. If this is a problem it's a problem we're continually enduring and which won't be much worsened by the drug.
- hinkley 5y ago
  When you’re 11 this is true but the whole idea with this theory of aging is that the old cells pile up, and getting some cell division rejuvenates the tissues. Cell division is controlled by feedback mechanisms based in part on intracellular pressures. That’s how your finger knows to fill in a cut. Lose some tissue, trigger division. So if you’re a tech billionaire who has noticed laugh or worry lines while checking out your hair transplants in the mirror, your body is already full of targets for this treatment. And the treatment is a vaccine. You can’t titrate a vaccine the way you can an SSRI, ramping up slowly to a full dose. Or none that I know of, so your whole body is going to be devouring itself many times faster than it normally does. You will probably develop a fever and feel weird for a moment, and your disposal systems for spare materials might be overwhelmed, like with rhabdo (mass muscle cell death leading to protein poisoning and kidney failure). I wonder if this is a case where antibodies should be administered intravenously over the course of days followed by the vaccine to make it permanent if your body handles it well.