Chronic overcrowding decreases cytoplasmic free calcium levels in T lymphocytes of aged CBA/CA mice.
Intracellular calcium concentration is a sensitive marker of the homeostasis of living cells, and its increase is an essential step of T lymphocyte activation. Changes in the environment provoke an adaptive stress-response of the organism. In our present work we have investigated the effect of chronic overcrowding on resting and lectin-stimulated cytoplasmic free calcium concentration of splenic T lymphocytes from young and aged CBA/CA mice (50 animals total). The animals were kept under 'normal' (68 cm2/animal) or 'overcrowded' (22 cm2/animal) conditions for 3 months. Young animals showed no change in resting and stimulated calcium after overcrowding. T cells from aged mice, however, displayed significantly smaller levels of both resting and lectin-stimulated intracellular calcium concentration (p < 0.01 each), as compared to those of the non-stressed, aged animals. This inadequate adaptation in the calcium metabolism of T lymphocytes may significantly contribute to the diminished immune response of the aged in stress.
Csermely
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P
Institute of Biochemistry I, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Pénzes
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Tóth
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D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D003441:Crowding / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*
D002118:Calcium