The roles of placental senescence, autophagy and senotherapeutics in the development and prevention of pre-eclampsia: A focus on ergothioneine.


Kell, Douglas B ORCID: 0000-0001-5838-7963, Kell, Loren, Kenny, Louise C ORCID: 0000-0002-9011-759X, Merriel, Abi ORCID: 0000-0003-0352-2106, Moore, J Bernadette ORCID: 0000-0003-4750-1550 and Pretorius, Etheresia (2025) The roles of placental senescence, autophagy and senotherapeutics in the development and prevention of pre-eclampsia: A focus on ergothioneine. Journal of reproductive immunology, 171. 104621-. ISSN 0165-0378, 1872-7603

Access the full-text of this item by clicking on the Open Access link.

Abstract

Cellular senescence is a well-established biological phenomenon in eukaryotes. It involves DNA damage, telomere shortening, a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and the inability of cells to replicate. It is associated with ageing, and also with oxidative stress. Given the importance of oxidative stress in pre-eclampsia, there is considerable evidence, that we review, that senescence plays an important role in both normal placental development and in the development of both early- and late-term pre-eclampsia. Autophagy is capable of delaying or even reversing the development of senescence, and certain small molecules such as sulforaphane and spermidine can stimulate autophagy, including via the redox-sensitive transcription factor Nrf2. Ergothioneine is a thiohistidine antioxidant that is protective against a variety of cardiovascular and other diseases. Ergothioneine also interacts with Nrf2, and pre-eclampsia occurs far less frequently in individuals with higher plasma ergothioneine levels. Together, these elements provide a self-consistent, molecular and systems biology explanation for at least one mechanism by which ergothioneine may be protective against pre-eclampsia.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Placenta, Animals, Humans, Pre-Eclampsia, Ergothioneine, Antioxidants, Oxidative Stress, Pregnancy, Autophagy, Female, NF-E2-Related Factor 2, Cellular Senescence
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Life Courses and Medical Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Aug 2025 09:20
Last Modified: 13 Sep 2025 02:22
DOI: 10.1016/j.jri.2025.104621
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jri.2025.104621
Related Websites:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3193993
Altmetric
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)