Venom peptides exhibit diverse pharmacology with attractive drug-like traits such as selectivity, safety, bioavailability and stability. Here, we report a distinct class of senolytics, the ‘senotoxins’, that are inspired by animal venoms. Compared with normal cells, senescent cells exhibit heightened vulnerability to venom-derived pore-forming proteins that disrupt membrane integrity and homeostasis.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Munoz-Espin, D. & Serrano, M. Cellular senescence: from physiology to pathology. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 15, 482–496 (2014). A comprehensive overview of the physiological roles of cellular senescence in development and tissue repair, as well as its contribution to aging and disease.
McHugh, D., Durán, I. & Gil, J. Senescence as a therapeutic target in cancer and age-related diseases. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 24, 57–71 (2024). A review of senolytics and senomorphics as a transformative strategies for eliminating senescent cells, suppressing inflammation, and addressing root causes of cancer and age-related diseases.
Colucci, M., Sarill, M., Lee, S. & Patel, R. Senescence in cancer. Cancer Cell 43, 1204–1226 (2025). A review discussing the paradoxical role of cellular senescence in cancer.
Chaib, S., Tchkonia, T. & Kirkland, J. L. Cellular senescence and senolytics: the path to the clinic. Nat. Med. 28, 1556–1568 (2022). A review examining the clinical potential of senolytics and the progress towards translating them into therapies for age-related diseases.
Arranz, R. et al. Elucidating the structure and assembly mechanism of actinoporin pores in complex membrane environments. Sci. Adv. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv0683 (2025). A research article describing, based on cryo-electron microscopy models, how actinoporins (including sticholysins) assemble into membrane pores.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Moral-Sanz, J. et al. Senotoxins target senescence via lipid binding specificity, ion imbalance and lipidome remodeling. Nat. Aging https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-01030-w (2026).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pore-forming venoms as a senolytic strategy. Nat Aging (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-026-01070-w
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-026-01070-w
