title: Plasmacytoid dendritic cells and their Toll-like receptor 9 expression selectively decrease with age.
abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in the initiation of immune responses against infectious particles and tumor cells; however, the impact of age, anthropometric parameters, and gender on the number and the expression of function-associated molecules of human DCs is poorly understood. In this study, blood DCs of 50 volunteers (19-84 years old) with no acute or chronic inflammatory diseases were examined using 4-color flow cytometry. Increasing age was associated with a decrease in blood plasmacytoid, but not myeloid DCs and a selective decrease in Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) expression by plasmacytoid DCs. In contrast, gender and body mass index did not impact the number of DC subsets or the expression of function-associated DC molecules. Thus, we demonstrate that age has a selective impact on plasmacytoid DCs and their TLR9 expression. This may contribute to an increased susceptibility to infections and tumors with increasing age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pneumology, University of Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Garbe
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bratke
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Johann Christian
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Virchow
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lommatzsch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D022423:Myeloid Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051217:Toll-Like Receptor 9 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; C495371:TLR9 protein, human; D051217:Toll-Like Receptor 9