Cell dormancy plasticity: Quiescence deepens into senescence through a dimmer switch

Fujimaki K, Yao G. Cell dormancy plasticity: quiescence deepens into senescence through a dimmer switch. Physiol Genomics 52: 558– 562, 2020. First published September 28, 2020; doi:10.1152/physiol-genomics.00068.2020.—Both being dormant cellular states, quiescence and senescence are traditionally considered distinct. Quiescence is reversible to proliferation upon growth signals, whereas senescence is irreversible in physiological conditions. Recent findings, however, suggest that quiescence deepening with a decreased proliferative tend-ency, but not capability, is a common transition path toward senes-cence in many cell and tissue types. This transition is associated with the continuously increased activation threshold of an RB-E2F-CDK gene network switch.