title: Interleukin-7 responsiveness of B220+ B cell precursors from bone marrow decreases in aging mice.
abstract: Using short-term culture assays to quantify the activity of B220+ B cell progenitors from bone marrow of young and old mice, we observed a decrease with age in the ability of B220+ cells in bone marrow to proliferate in IL-7. Dose-response curves showed no difference between young and old mice in the amount of IL-7 required to stimulate B220+ cells. However, the B220+ cells from the bone marrow of old donors (> 20 weeks) contained two- to fivefold fewer cells responsive to IL-7 than the identical cell population isolated from young donors. Similar results were obtained with mice up to 48 weeks of age from three different strains, BALB/c, C57BL/6, and C.B-17. These data provide evidence for a small, but reproducible, age-associated decrease in B cell production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Jönsson
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis*; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D015851:Interleukin-7; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens