Abstract
Until the mid-20th century, infectious diseases were the major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. Massive vaccination campaigns, antibiotics, antivirals, and advanced public health measures drastically reduced sickness and death from infections in children and younger adults. However, older adults (>65 y of age) remain vulnerable to infections, and infectious diseases remain among the top 5-10 causes of death in this population. The aging of the immune system, often referred to as immune senescence, is the key phenomenon underlying this vulnerability. This review centers on age-related changes in T cells, which are dramatically and reproducibly altered with aging. I discuss changes in T cell production, maintenance, function, and response to latent persistent infection, particularly against CMV, which exerts a profound influence on the aging T cell pool, concluding with a brief list of measures to improve immune function in older adults.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2622-2629 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Immunology |
| Volume | 193 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 15 2014 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Aging of the T cell compartment in mice and humans : from no naive expectations to foggy memories. / Nikolich-Zugich, Janko.
In: Journal of Immunology, Vol. 193, No. 6, 15.09.2014, p. 2622-2629.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Aging of the T cell compartment in mice and humans
T2 - from no naive expectations to foggy memories
AU - Nikolich-Zugich, Janko
PY - 2014/9/15
Y1 - 2014/9/15
N2 - Until the mid-20th century, infectious diseases were the major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. Massive vaccination campaigns, antibiotics, antivirals, and advanced public health measures drastically reduced sickness and death from infections in children and younger adults. However, older adults (>65 y of age) remain vulnerable to infections, and infectious diseases remain among the top 5-10 causes of death in this population. The aging of the immune system, often referred to as immune senescence, is the key phenomenon underlying this vulnerability. This review centers on age-related changes in T cells, which are dramatically and reproducibly altered with aging. I discuss changes in T cell production, maintenance, function, and response to latent persistent infection, particularly against CMV, which exerts a profound influence on the aging T cell pool, concluding with a brief list of measures to improve immune function in older adults.
AB - Until the mid-20th century, infectious diseases were the major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. Massive vaccination campaigns, antibiotics, antivirals, and advanced public health measures drastically reduced sickness and death from infections in children and younger adults. However, older adults (>65 y of age) remain vulnerable to infections, and infectious diseases remain among the top 5-10 causes of death in this population. The aging of the immune system, often referred to as immune senescence, is the key phenomenon underlying this vulnerability. This review centers on age-related changes in T cells, which are dramatically and reproducibly altered with aging. I discuss changes in T cell production, maintenance, function, and response to latent persistent infection, particularly against CMV, which exerts a profound influence on the aging T cell pool, concluding with a brief list of measures to improve immune function in older adults.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921634186&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84921634186&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4049/jimmunol.1401174
DO - 10.4049/jimmunol.1401174
M3 - Article
C2 - 25193936
AN - SCOPUS:84921634186
VL - 193
SP - 2622
EP - 2629
JO - Journal of Immunology
JF - Journal of Immunology
SN - 0022-1767
IS - 6
ER -