Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; Center for Basic and Clinical Immunology Research (CISI), University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; WAO Center of Excellence, Naples, Italy; Institute of Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology "G. Salvatore" (IEOS), National Research Council (CNR), Naples, Italy.
Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Ageing Res Rev. 2020 Aug;61:101071. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101071. Epub 2020 Apr 25.
The world population is undergoing a rapid expansion of older adults. Aging is associated with numerous changes that affect all organs and systems, including every component of the immune system. Immunosenescence is a multifaceted process characterized by poor response to vaccine and higher incidence of bacterial and viral infections, cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Immunosenescence has been associated with chronic low-grade inflammation referred to as inflammaging, whose underlying mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated, including age-related changes affecting components of the innate and adaptive immune system. T follicular helper (T) cells, present in lymphoid organs and in peripheral blood, are specialized in providing cognate help to B cells and are required for the production of immunoglobulins. Several subsets of T cells have been identified in humans and mice and modifications in T cell phenotype and function progressively occur with age. Dysfunctional T cells play a role in cancer, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases, all conditions particularly prevalent in elderly subjects. A specialized population of Treg cells, named T follicular regulatory (T) cells, present in lymphoid organs and in peripheral blood, exerts opposing roles to T cells in regulating immunity. Indeed, changes in T/T cell ratio constitute a relevant feature of aging. Herein we discuss the cellular and molecular changes in both T cells and T cells that occur in aging and recent findings suggesting that T cells and/or their subsets could be involved in atherosclerosis, cancer, and autoimmunity.
世界人口正在经历老年人的快速增长。衰老是与许多影响所有器官和系统的变化相关联的，包括免疫系统的每一个组成部分。免疫衰老（Immunosenescence）是一个多方面的过程，其特征是对疫苗的反应不佳，并且更容易发生细菌和病毒感染、癌症、心血管和自身免疫性疾病。免疫衰老与被称为炎症衰老（inflammaging）的慢性低度炎症有关，其潜在机制仍不完全清楚，包括影响先天和适应性免疫系统成分的与年龄相关的变化。滤泡辅助 T 细胞（T follicular helper，Tfh）存在于淋巴器官和外周血中，专门为 B 细胞提供同源帮助，并且是产生免疫球蛋白所必需的。已经在人类和小鼠中鉴定出了几种 T 细胞亚群，并且 T 细胞表型和功能随着年龄的增长而逐渐发生变化。功能失调的 T 细胞在癌症、自身免疫和心血管疾病中发挥作用，所有这些疾病在老年人群中尤为普遍。一类称为滤泡调节性 T 细胞（T follicular regulatory，Tfr）的特殊 Treg 细胞存在于淋巴器官和外周血中，在调节免疫方面发挥着与 T 细胞相反的作用。事实上，T/T 细胞比值的变化是衰老的一个重要特征。本文讨论了衰老过程中 T 细胞和 Tfh 细胞发生的细胞和分子变化，以及最近的研究结果表明，T 细胞及其亚群可能参与动脉粥样硬化、癌症和自身免疫。
