Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Aug;21(4):414-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2009.05.009. Epub 2009 Jun 6.

Effects of aging on T cell function

Laura Haynes  1 , Alexander C Maue
Affiliations
Review

Effects of aging on T cell function

Laura Haynes et al. Curr Opin Immunol. 2009 Aug.

Abstract

Immunosenescence influences many components of the immune system. Most importantly, profound changes in T cell function are evident in older individuals. The impact of aging on specific T cell subsets has been difficult to examine, but recent advances in murine model systems and new insights into T cell function have allowed for the more precise examination of how T cell responses change with aging. Importantly, recent studies have shown that age-related enhancement of both Th17 generation and regulatory T cell function may contribute to significant changes in immune function. In this review, we summarize the current views on how aging influences the factors that impact T cell function and how this can affect the immune response to infections, vaccinations, and tumors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Burns E.A., Lum L.G., L’Hommedieu G., Goodwin J.S. Specific humoral immunity in the elderly: in vivo and in vitro response to vaccination. J Gerontol. 1993;48:B231–236. - PubMed
    1. Cook J.M., Gualde N., Hessel L., Mounier M., Michel J.P., Denis F., Ratinaud M.H. Alterations in the human immune response to the hepatitis B vaccine among the elderly. Cell Immunol. 1987;109:89–96. - PubMed
    1. Musher D.M., Chapman A.J., Goree A., Jonsson S., Briles D., Baughn R.E. Natural and vaccine-related immunity to Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Infect Dis. 1986;154:245–256. - PubMed
    1. Yu X., Tsibane T., McGraw P.A., House F.S., Keefer C.J., Hicar M.D., Tumpey T.M., Pappas C., Perrone L.A., Martinez O. Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors. Nature. 2008;455:532–536. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Haynes L., Eaton S.M., Burns E.M., Randall T.D., Swain S.L. CD4 T cell memory derived from young naive cells functions well into old age, but memory generated from aged naive cells functions poorly. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100:15053–15058. - PMC - PubMed