Cellular senescence—an irreversible cell-cycle arrest coupled with the production of pro-inflammatory secretions known as SASP—is now viewed as a central driver of musculoskeletal aging. Accumulation of these senescent cells in bone, cartilage, intervertebral discs and skeletal muscle correlates with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, disc degeneration and sarcopenia. While transient senescence aids embryogenesis, wound healing and tumour suppression, its chronic presence disrupts tissue homeostasis and creates a self-propagating “bystander” effect that accelerates systemic ageing.

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy has reshaped expectations for treating hematological malignancies and is now reaching toward autoimmune disorders, fibrosis, and even aging. Engineered receptors couple an antibody-derived binding domain with T-cell signaling modules, granting exquisite specificity and long-lived memory. More than 1,700 trials are under way, with the United States and China leading in both clinical testing and the use of AI design platforms such as CAR-Toner. Six FDA-approved products target CD19 or BCMA, while China has granted marketing authorization to five additional constructs. Beyond oncology, CD19-directed cells have produced drug-free remission in systemic lupus erythematosus, myositis, sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis; FAP-directed or senolytic CAR-T cells are being explored for cardiac fibrosis and age-related decline, illustrating the widening therapeutic canvas.

Recently, a collaborative research team led by Professor Yong-Qiang Li of Shandong University and Professor Yanmei Yang of Shandong Normal University systematically investigated the physical binding mechanisms between enzymes and the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6), and proposed a catalytically enhanced strategy for photodynamic therapy (PDT). The study demonstrated that the extent of positively charged regions on the enzyme surface could be served as a reliable indicator for evaluating and predicting the enzyme’s binding affinity to Ce6. Based on this criterion, the authors further developed catalase-Ce6 nanoconjugates (CAT-Ce6 NCs) exhibiting excellent stability and potent photodynamic antibacterial activity. The CAT-Ce6 NCs effectively remodeled hypoxic pathological microenvironments and eradicated bacteria, thereby promoting the advancement of catalysis-augmented PDT of bacterial infections. The aforementioned study, titled "Deciphering the Physical Binding Mechanism of Enzyme–Photosensitizer Facilitates Catalysis-Augmented Photodynamic Therapy," was published in the journal Research.