title: Inflammaging and anti-inflammaging: a systemic perspective on aging and longevity emerged from studies in humans.
abstract: A large part of the aging phenotype, including immunosenescence, is explained by an imbalance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory networks, which results in the low grade chronic pro-inflammatory status we proposed to call inflammaging. Within this perspective, healthy aging and longevity are likely the result not only of a lower propensity to mount inflammatory responses but also of efficient anti-inflammatory networks, which in normal aging fail to fully neutralize the inflammatory processes consequent to the lifelong antigenic burden and exposure to damaging agents. Such a global imbalance can be a major driving force for frailty and common age-related pathologies, and should be addressed and studied within an evolutionary-based systems biology perspective. Evidence in favor of this conceptualization largely derives from studies in humans. We thus propose that inflammaging can be flanked by anti-inflammaging as major determinants not only of immunosenescence but eventually of global aging and longevity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Bologna, via S. Giacomo 12, 40126 Bologna, Italy. claudio.franceschi@unibo.it
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Capri
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Monti
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giunta
authors.forename: Fabiola
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sevini
authors.forename: Maria Panagiota
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Panourgia
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Invidia
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Celani
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scurti
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cevenini
authors.forename: Gastone C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Castellani
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salvioli
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000502:physiology*; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018836:Inflammation Mediators