Senolytics in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Results from a first-in-human, open-label, pilot studyResearch in context

Background: Cellular senescence is a key mechanism that drives age-related diseases, but has yet to be targeted therapeutically in humans. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, fatal cellular senescence-associated disease. Selectively ablating senescent cells using dasatinib plus quercetin (DQ) alleviates IPF-related dysfunction in bleomycin-administered mice. Methods: A two-center, open-label study of intermittent DQ (D:100 mg/day, Q:1250 mg/day, three-days/week over three-weeks) was conducted in participants with IPF (n = 14) to evaluate feasibility of implementing a senolytic intervention. The primary endpoints were retention rates and completion rates for planned clinical assessments. Secondary endpoints were safety and change in functional and reported health measures. Associations with the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) were explored. Findings: Fourteen patients with stable IPF were recruited. The retention rate was 100% with no DQ discontinuation; planned clinical assessments were complete in 13/14 participants. One serious adverse event was reported. Non-serious events were primarily mild-moderate, with respiratory symptoms (n = 16 total events), skin irritation/bruising (n = 14), and gastrointestinal discomfort (n = 12) being most frequent. Physical function evaluated as 6-min walk distance, 4-m gait speed, and chair-stands time was significantly and clinically-meaningfully improved (p