title: Senescence of T Lymphocytes: Implications for Enhancing Human Immunity.
abstract: As humans live longer, a central concern is to find ways to maintain their health as they age. Immunity declines during ageing, as shown by the increased susceptibility to infection by both previously encountered and new pathogens and by the decreased efficacy of vaccination. It is therefore crucial to understand the mechanisms responsible for this decrease in immunity and to develop new strategies to enhance immune function in older humans. We discuss here how the induction of senescence alters leukocyte, and specifically T cell, function. An emerging concept is that senescence and nutrient sensing-signalling pathways within T cells converge to regulate functional responses, and the manipulation of these pathways may offer new ways to enhance immunity during ageing.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK. Electronic address: akbar@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Arne N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Akbar
authors.affiliation: William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sian M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Henson
authors.affiliation: Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK; Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanna
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D007114:Immunization; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*