The impact of aging on memory T cell phenotype and function in the human bone marrow

Journal of Leukocyte Biology

Gerhard T. Laschober²  Alexandar Tzankov⁴  Brigitte Jenewein²  Dietmar Herndler-Brandstetter²  Günter Lepperdinger and²  Walther Parson³  Frank Kloss¹  Katja Landgraf²  Regina Brunauer²  Robert Gassner¹  Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein² 

[1] Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria;Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria;Institute of Legal Medicine and Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria; Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;

关键词: CD8⁺CD28^– T cell;    IL-15;    IL-6;    CD57;    inflamm-aging;    cytomegalovirus infection;   

DOI  :  10.1189/jlb.0611299

学科分类：生理学

来源: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

【 摘 要 】

Recently, the BM has been shown to play a key role in regulating the survival and function of memory T cells. However, the impact of aging on these processes has not yet been studied. We demonstrate that the number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the BM is maintained during aging. However, the composition of the T cell pool in the aged BM is altered with a decline of naïve and an increase in TEM cells. In contrast to the PB, a highly activated CD8+CD28– T cell population, which lacks the late differentiation marker CD57, accumulates in the BM of elderly persons. IL-6 and IL-15, which are both increased in the aged BM, efficiently induce the activation, proliferation, and differentiation of CD8+ T cells in vitro, highlighting a role of these cytokines in the age-dependent accumulation of highly activated CD8+CD28– T cells in the BM. Yet, these age-related changes do not impair the maintenance of a high number of polyfunctional memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the BM of elderly persons. In summary, aging leads to the accumulation of a highly activated CD8+CD28– T cell population in the BM, which is driven by the age-related increase of IL-6 and IL-15. Despite these changes, the aged BM is a rich source of polyfunctional memory T cells and may thus represent an important line of defense to fight recurrent infections in old age.

【 授权许可】

Unknown