Flavonoid 4,4′-dimethoxychalcone selectively eliminates senescent cells via activating ferritinophagy

Flavonoids are bioactive natural polyphenolic compounds with health benefits, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects. Our previous studies revealed that a flavonoid 4,4′-dimethoxychalcone (DMC) induced ferroptosis via inhibiting ferrochelatase (FECH). However, the effect of DMC on cellular senescence is unknown. In the present study, we found that DMC treatment selectively eliminated senescent cells, and DMC alone or a combination of DMC and quercetin or dasatinib showed high efficiency in the clearance of senescent cells. We identified FECH was highly expressed in senescent cells compared to non-senescent cells. Mechanistically, we found that DMC inhibited FECH and induced ferritinophagy, which led to an increase of labile iron pool, triggering ferroptosis of senescent cells. Importantly, we found that DMC treatment prevented hair loss, improved motor coordination, and reduced the expression of several senescence-associated secretory phenotype factors (IL-6, IL-1β, CXCL-10, and MMP12) in the liver of old mice. Collectively, we revealed that, through the induction of ferroptosis, DMC holds the promise as a new senolytics to prevent age-related pathologies.