Health & Medicine

Professor Vassilis Gorgoulis among the international scientists that conceived MICSE guidelines published in “Cell”: a universal toolset for cellular senescence in vivo research

Professor Vassilis Gorgoulis among the international scientists that conceived MICSE guidelines published in “Cell”: a universal toolset for cellular senescence in vivo research

Targeting cellular senescence as a therapeutic strategy is considered of great promise to address age-associated diseases including cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, pulmonary, kidney or musculoskeletal diseases. But cellular senescence is a coin with two sides. While chronic senescence is widely implicated in tissue pathology, transiently induced senescence is a vital part of the healing process. Therefore, a deep understanding of senescence processes is needed to tackle precisely the right cells at the right time.

Cellular senescence is a state triggered by stress, characterized by stable cell cycle arrest and increased secretory activity. Recent advancements in tools for studying senescence have opened new possibilities for understanding its diverse roles in health and disease and for exploring senescent cells as therapeutic targets. However, identifying and characterizing senescent cells in tissues and living organisms present several conceptual, methodological, and practical challenges. Traditional markers of senescence, which were originally discovered and validated in cell culture models, often do not function well in the natural tissue environment or “in situ.”

The newly devised “MICSE” guidelines, short for “Minimal Information on Cellular Senescence Experimentation in vivo”, have been developed as toolset that enables a more accurate assessment of the impact of senescent cells on physiological and pathological processes. They provide a comprehensive and updated overview of senescence markers across various contexts and discuss the technical adaptations necessary for the different types of materials available for studying senescence, including biopsies and liquid biopsies like blood samples, and cancer samples, each with their own unique properties and limitations. As there is no single biomarker for cellular senescence, MICSE is based on a uniform toolset of markers and techniques based on multiple indicators that need to be measured simultaneously. The guidelines have now been published in the prestigious scientific journal “Cell”.

The MICSE guidelines were conceived by a group of scientists from Austria, Greece, the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States, Italy, Japan, Israel, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. Prof Vassilis Gorgoulis, from the Faculty of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, is one of the key scientists of this consortium, who designed new innovative tools that streamline senescence detection. “Art is I, science is we” is a prominent quote by Bernard, one of the name patrons of the initiative. This does by no means speak against the multifaceted nature and varying viewpoints that make science robust. On the contrary, an agreement on basic guidelines allows for scientific discussion and debate across laboratories and country borders. By working together and agreeing on a universal framework, researchers can ensure they all speak the same “language” in order to meet one of the pressing challenges of our societies: the over-aging populations and the high socio-economic burden associated with it, which mandates for strategies to increase the health span of individuals, to get more life into our years.

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ranks first in Greece and Cyprus – Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2025 and US News Global University Rankings 2025-2026 announced

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ranks first in Greece and Cyprus – Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2025 and US News Global University Rankings 2025-2026 announced

US News & World Report Media Company has recently published the results of its Best Global Universities Rankings for 2025-2026. In this 11th consecutive annual edition of the US News Best Global Universities Rankings, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens placed 1st among Greek and Cypriot Universities and 216th worldwide. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki […]

Once again, top-scoring candidates choose the University of Athens

Once again, top-scoring candidates choose the University of Athens

It is a day of joy for many candidates who have recently sat the nationwide examinations for admission to Greece’s Higher Educational Institutions. Among this year’s top achievers—those scoring over 19,000 points—a significant number have once again set their sights on enrolling in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). One of the highest […]

Renovated ‘New Chemistry Laboratory Building’ opens officially – School of Education, Library of the Department of Economics

Renovated ‘New Chemistry Laboratory Building’ opens officially – School of Education, Library of the Department of Economics

In a particularly symbolic and emotional opening ceremony, the renovated ‘New Chemistry Laboratory Building’ was officially handed over to the academic community of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This historic building lies at the heart of Athens, surrounded on three sides by Mavromichali, Navarinou, and Charilaou Trikoupi streets. With the completion of the […]

Prof. Dr. Xenofon Baraliakos, Medical Director of the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, and Doctor Honoris Causa of the School of Medicine of the University of Athens, is the new president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)

Prof. Dr. Xenofon Baraliakos, Medical Director of the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, and Doctor Honoris Causa of the School of Medicine of the University of Athens, is the new president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)

Prof. Dr. Xenofon Baraliakos, Medical Director of the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, and Professor for Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, is the new president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR). During his two-year term, he plans to implement a number of measures aimed at further improving patient care […]

Alpha TV: NKUA ranks among the top 100 Universities in the world

Alpha TV: NKUA ranks among the top 100 Universities in the world

Rectors and Vice-Rectors from 54 Universities in Europe met at the historic main building of the University of Athens to participate in the 35th General Assembly of the UNICA Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe, which took place for the first time in Greece earlier this month. At the same time, the University […]

The 35th General Assembly of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) closes at NKUA with great success and participation from across the continent

The 35th General Assembly of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) closes at NKUA with great success and participation from across the continent

With the symbolic strength of Athens’ scholarly tradition encompassing contemporary academic collaboration, the 35th General Assembly of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) closed at the historic main building of the University of Athens. The proceedings began on Thursday, 19 June, with the UNICA Administrative General Assembly. The meeting, held in a hybrid […]

MA “Philosophy”: Call for applications for the academic year 2025-2026

MA “Philosophy”: Call for applications for the academic year 2025-2026

The Department of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens invites those interested, to apply for: *one of the -up to 50- postgraduate positions of the MA “Philosophy”, specialization: “History of Philosophy and Ideas (Greek Philosophy)” * General Information ➢The classes are held online ➢The program grants the Postgraduate Degree Master of Arts in “Philosophy”, in the specialization: “History of Philosophy and Ideas (Greek Philosophy)“ ➢Starting date : October 2025 ➢Language of instruction : English ➢Number of courses : 6 courses & a short master thesis ➢Duration : one year-intensive program (two semesters -winter & spring- and a summer term) ➢Credits : the program consists of 75 ECTS ➢Tuition fee : 850 € (EUR) per semester (each of the two installments is due in […]

University of Athens

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which was inaugurated on May 3, 1837, was initially housed in a renovated Ottoman building on the northeastern side of the Acropolis. This building has since been restored and now functions as the University Museum. Originally named the "Othonian University," after Otto, the first king of Greece, it consisted of four academic departments and 52 students. As the first university of the newly established Greek state, as well as of the broader Balkan and Mediterranean region, it assumed an important socio-historical role, which was pivotal in the development of specific forms of knowledge and culture within the country.

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