Journal
SEMINARS IN IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 17, Issue 5, Pages 378-384Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2005.05.005
Keywords
aging; B cells; isotype switch; transcription factors
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Funding
- NIA NIH HHS [AG-23717, AG-17618, R37 AG023717] Funding Source: Medline
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Vaccinations are powerful tools for combating infections. Because of the age-related impairment in immune functions, the currently available vaccines are protecting only a small proportion of the elderly population. We, here, provide an overview of age-related changes in innate and adaptive immunity with particular emphasis to changes in antibody production with aging. We also summarize our results showing that the E2A-encoded transcription factor E47, which regulates many B cell functions including class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM), is downregulated in splenic B cells from old mice. This leads to a reduction in the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which directly induces CSR and SHM, and, in turn, to reduced amounts of switched antibodies produced by splenic activated B cells. Our preliminary results in humans indicate similar reductions: we show herein that the expression of E2A and AID progressively decline with age. Our results provide a possible molecular basis for a decrease in the humoral immune response in aging mice and humans. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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