TY - JOUR
T1 - Aging of the T cell compartment in mice and humans
T2 - From no naive expectations to foggy memories
AU - Nikolich-Žugich, Janko
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service Awards AG020719, AG035309, and AI81680, Contracts HHSN 272201100017C and HHSN 272200900059C from the National Institutes of Health, and the Elizabeth Bowman Endowed Professorship in Medical Science (to J.N.-Zˇ.).
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2014 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
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.
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U2 - 10.4049/jimmunol.1401174
DO - 10.4049/jimmunol.1401174
M3 - Review 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 -