Journal
ARTHRITIS RESEARCH & THERAPY
Volume 6, Issue 4, Pages 131-139Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/ar1180
Keywords
aging; B cells; homeostasis; immunosenescence; lymphopoiesis
Categories
Funding
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING [R01AG013983] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NIA NIH HHS [R01 AG13983, R01 AG013983] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Immunosenescence is associated with a decline in both T and B lymphocyte function. Although aged individuals have normal numbers of B cells in the periphery and are capable of mounting robust humoral responses, the antibodies produced are generally of lower affinity and are less protective than those produced by young animals. Here we review multiple studies that address the mechanisms that contribute to this decline. Taken together, these studies suggest that age-associated loss of the ability to generate protective humoral immunity results in part from reduced B lymphopoiesis. As the output of new, naive B cells declines, homeostatic pressures presumably force the filling of the peripheral B cell pool by long-lived antigen-experienced cells. Because the antibody repertoire of these cells is restricted by previous antigenic experience, they make poor quality responses to new immunologic insults.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available