Inflammaging decreases adaptive and innate immune responses in mice and humans.
Both the innate and adaptive immune systems decline with age, causing greater susceptibility to infectious diseases and reduced responses to vaccination. Diseases are more severe in elderly than in young individuals and have a greater impact on health outcomes such as morbidity, disability and mortality. Aging is characterized by increased low-grade chronic inflammation, called "inflammaging", measured by circulating levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and CRP, as well as by latent infections with viruses such as cytomegalovirus. Inflammaging has received considerable attention because it proposes a link between changes in immune cells and a number of diseases and syndromes typical of old age. In this review we aim at summarizing the current knowledge on pathways contributing to inflammaging, on immune responses down-regulated by inflammation and mechanisms proposed. The defects in the immune response of elderly individuals presented in this review should help to discover avenues for effective intervention to promote healthy aging.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016960 (R-138), Miami, FL, 33101, USA. dfrasca@med.miami.edu.
Daniela
D
Frasca
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016960 (R-138), Miami, FL, 33101, USA.
Bonnie B
BB
Blomberg
D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000276:immunology*; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000276:immunology; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D013045:Species Specificity
D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators
Aging; Immunity; Inflammaging; Vaccine responses