title: Memory T-cell homeostasis and senescence during aging.
abstract: Evidence is accumulating that old individuals are more susceptible to infection with organisms to which they were previously immune, indicating that there might be a limit to the persistence of immune memory. The prevailing concept is that defects in memory T-cell populations result from inexorable end-stage differentiation as a result of repeated lifelong antigenic challenge. We discuss here mechanisms that might constrain the persistence of memory T cells and consider whether humans will suffer from memory T-cell exhaustion as life expectancy increases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infection and Immunity, Department of Immunology, University College London, 46 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 4JF, UK. s.henson@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sian M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Henson
authors.forename: Arne N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Akbar
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D038041:Lymphopoiesis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase