The ageing immune system: is it ever too old to become young again?
Ageing is accompanied by a decline in the function of the immune system, which increases susceptibility to infections and can decrease the quality of life. The ability to rejuvenate the ageing immune system would therefore be beneficial for elderly individuals and would decrease health-care costs for society. But is the immune system ever too old to become young again? We review here the promise of various approaches to rejuvenate the function of the immune system in the rapidly growing ageing population.
Dorshkind
Kenneth
K
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. kdorshki@mednet.ucla.edu
Montecino-Rodriguez
Encarnacion
E
Signer
Robert A J
RA
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D016207:Cytokines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005544:Forecasting; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D006728:Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000254:growth & development*; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000166:cytology; D038041:Lymphopoiesis; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D012060:Rejuvenation; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development
D016207:Cytokines; D006728:Hormones