The effect of aging on the induction of humoral and cellular immunity and tolerance in two long-lived mouse strains.
Aging is a complex process that adversely affects most if not all components of the immune system. In this report, two long-lived mouse strains have been compared in ability to generate both antigen-specific immunity and tolerance. Although CBA/CaJ mice produced high levels of antibody following injection of aqueous preparations of aggregated human gamma-globulin (AHGG), C57BL/6 mice made only meager antibody responses to such preparations. Age dramatically affects the humoral anti-HGG response to aqueous AHGG in both strains, but the meager response of young C57BL/6 mice was at insignificant levels in aged C57BL/6 mice. Conversely, both mouse strains generated good responses following injection of HGG in complete Freund's adjuvant at both the T and B cell level as evidenced by in vitro antigen-specific T cell proliferation and anti-HGG antibody production. Aged mice of both strains showed a marked decrease in the production of serum anti-HGG antibody in comparison to young mice. Although the antigen-specific T cell proliferative response was significantly decreased in aged CBA/CaJ mice, such proliferation was not affected in aged mice of the C57BL/6 strain. Removal of CD8+ cells from lymph node T cells of either young or aged C57BL/6 mice did not increase the antigen-specific proliferative response, suggesting that loss of CD8+ suppressors during the aging process is not responsible for the high level of antigen-specific T cell proliferation in aged C57BL/6 mice. Tolerance to HGG was readily induced in both young and aged C57BL/6 and CBA/CaJ mice although aged mice demonstrate a modest resistance to tolerance induction when compared to their young counterparts. This resistance was observed in both antibody production and antigen-specific T cell proliferation.
Department of Immunology, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California 92037.
L C
LC
Gahring
W O
WO
Weigle
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology; D005719:gamma-Globulins / Q000276:immunology
D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D005719:gamma-Globulins