Identification of aging-associated immunotypes and immune stability as indicators of post-vaccination immune activation

Immunosenescence describes immune dysfunction observed in older individuals. To identify individuals at-risk for immune dysfunction, it is crucial to understand the diverse immune phenotypes and their intrinsic functional capabilities. We investigated immune cell subsets and variation in the aging population. We observed that inter-individual immune variation was associated with age and cytomegalovirus seropositivity. Based on the similarities of immune subset composition among individuals, we identified nine immunotypes that displayed different aging-associated immune signatures, which explained inter-individual variation better than age. Additionally, we correlated the immune subset composition of individuals over approximately a year as a measure of stability of immune parameters. Immune stability was significantly lower in immunotypes that contained aging-associated immune subsets and correlated with a circulating CD38 + CD4+ T follicular helper cell increase 7 days after influenza vaccination. In conclusion, immune stability is a feature of immunotypes and could be a potential indicator of post-vaccination cellular kinetics.

Automated summary

Immunosenescence refers to immune dysfunction observed in older individuals. To better understand this phenomenon, we investigated immune cell subsets and variation in the aging population. We identified nine immunotypes that displayed different aging-related immune signatures, which explained inter-individual variation better than age. Additionally, we found that immune stability was lower in immunotypes containing aging-associated immune subsets and correlated with an increase in circulating CD38 + CD4+ T follicular helper cells after influenza vaccination.