title: The inverted CD4/CD8 ratio and associated parameters in 66-year-old individuals: the Swedish HEXA immune study.
abstract: The Swedish OCTO and NONA immune longitudinal studies were able to identify and confirm an immune risk profile (IRP) predictive of an increased 2-year mortality in very old individuals, 86-94 years of age. The IRP, was associated with persistent cytomegalovirus infection and characterized by inverted CD4/CD8 ratio and related to expansion of terminally differentiated effector memory T cells (TEMRA phenotype). In the present HEXA immune longitudinal study, we have examined a younger group of elderly individuals (n = 424, 66 years of age) in a population-based sample in the community of Jönköping, Sweden, to examine the relevance of findings previously demonstrated in the very old. Immunological monitoring that was conducted included T cell subsets and CMV-IgG and CMV-IgM serology. The result showed a prevalence of 15 % of individuals with an inverted CD4/CD8 ratio, which was associated with seropositivity to cytomegalovirus and increases in the level of TEMRA cells. The proportion of individuals with an inverted CD4/CD8 ratio was significantly higher in men whereas the numbers of CD3+CD4+ cells were significantly higher in women. In conclusion, these findings are very similar to those previously found by us in the Swedish longitudinal studies, suggesting that an immune profile previously identified in the very old also exists in the present sample of hexagenerians. Therefore, it will be important to examine clinical parameters, including morbidity and mortality, to assess whether the immune profile also is a risk profile associated with higher mortality in this sample of hexagenerians.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Department of Natural Science and Biomedicine, Jönköping University, Box 1026, 551 11, Jönköping, Sweden. Jan.Strindhall@hhj.hj.se
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strindhall
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skog
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ernerudh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bengner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Löfgren
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matussek
authors.forename: B O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wikby
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology