Senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-gal or SABG) is a hypothetical

hydrolase In biochemistry, hydrolases constitute a class of enzymes that commonly function as biochemical catalysts that use water to break a chemical bond: :\ce \quad \xrightarrowtext\quad \ce This typically results in dividing a larger molecule into s ...

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

that

catalyzes Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

the

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

of β-galactosides into

monosaccharide Monosaccharides (from Greek '' monos'': single, '' sacchar'': sugar), also called simple sugars, are the simplest forms of sugar and the most basic units (monomers) from which all carbohydrates are built. Chemically, monosaccharides are polyhy ...

s. Senescence-associated beta-galactosidase, along with p16^Ink4A, is regarded to be a

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

cellular senescence Cellular senescence is a phenomenon characterized by the cessation of cell division. In their experiments during the early 1960s, Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead found that normal human fetal fibroblasts in culture reach a maximum of appro ...

. Its existence was proposed in 1995 by Dimri et al. following the observation that when beta-galactosidase assays were carried out at pH 6.0, only cells in

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of Function (biology), functional characteristics in living organisms. Whole organism senescence involves an increase in mortality rate, death rates or a decrease in fecundity with ...

state develop staining. They proposed a cytochemical assay based on production of a blue-dyed precipitate that results from the cleavage of the chromogenic substrate X-Gal, which stains blue when cleaved by galactosidase. Since then, even more specific quantitative assays were developed for its detection at pH 6.0. Today this phenomenon is explained by the overexpression and accumulation of the endogenous lysosomal beta-galactosidase specifically in senescent cells. Its expression is not required for senescence. However, it remains as the most widely used biomarker for senescent and aging cells, because it is easy to detect and reliable both ''in situ'' and ''in vitro''.

References

Further reading