title: The influences of age on T lymphocyte subsets in C57BL/6 mice.
abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the age related changes of T lymphocyte subsets in C57BL/6 mice and immune function. Multi-color immunofluorescence techniques that were used to analyse relative numbers of T lymphocyte subsets include CD4+, CD8+, naive and memory CD4+and CD8+, CD8+CD28+T cells in peripheral blood of C57BL/6 mice from different age groups (Group I: 2 months old; Group II: 7 months old; Group III: 21 months old); Splenocytes isolated from different group mice were stimulated with Con A to evaluate the proliferative ability. Compared with group I, group II had a significant reduction in the percentage of CD4+, naive CD4+and CD8+T cells and an increase in the percentage of CD8+T cells, while group III had a significant reduction in the percentage of CD4+, naive CD4+and CD8+T cells and increase in the percentage of CD8+, memory CD4+and CD8+T cells in peripheral blood. Compared with group II, group III had a significant reduction in the percentage of naive CD8+T cells and increase in the percentage of memory CD4+and CD8+, CD8+CD28+T cells in peripheral blood. The T lymphocyte proliferation in vitro showed that groups II and III had a lower proliferative capacity than group I, between groups II and III, there was not a significant difference. We provide relative values for the T lymphocyte subsets in the different age groups of C57BL/6 mice. The immune system began aging at 7 months old in C57BL/6 mice under a specific pathogen free environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, China; Translational Center for Stem Cell Research, Tongji Hospital, Stem Cell Research Center, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200065, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Xincun Road 389, Shanghai 200065, China.
authors.forename: Huimin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Translational Center for Stem Cell Research, Tongji Hospital, Stem Cell Research Center, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200065, China.
authors.forename: Xiaochen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Translational Center for Stem Cell Research, Tongji Hospital, Stem Cell Research Center, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200065, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, China.
authors.forename: Guangwen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji University, No. 389 XinCun Road, Shanghai 200065, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Aging; C57BL/6 mice; Immunosenescence; T lymphocyte subsets