Deterioration of cellular immunity during aging. The relationship between age-dependent impairment of delayed-type hypersensitivity reactivity, interleukin-2 production capacity, and frequency of Thy-1+,Lyt-2- cells in C57BL/Ka and CBA/Rij mice.
The effect of aging on the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in vivo and the interleukin-2 (IL-2) production capacity in vitro by spleen cells from young (17 weeks) and old (125 weeks) CBA/Rij and C57BL/Ka mice were investigated. For both CBA/Rij and C57BL/Ka mice an age-related decline in the DTH response to SRBC and the IL-2 production capacity was observed. Both parameters are mediated by Thy-1+,Lyt-2- spleen cells. For both mouse strains the proportion of Thy-1+,Lyt-2- spleen cells declined less strongly with aging than the DTH reactivity and the IL-2 production capacity. From this it was concluded that not only a quantitative but also a qualitative decrease of T-cell function occurs during senescence. It was also investigated whether the proportion of Thy-1+,Lyt-2- peripheral blood lymphocytes can be used as a predictive value with regard to the decline of DTH with aging of the corresponding mouse. This was indeed found to be the case in CBA/Rij mice, but not in C57BL mice.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000950:Antigens, Ly / Q000032:analysis; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens
D000950:Antigens, Ly; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D007376:Interleukin-2; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens