Highly multiplexed immune profiling throughout adulthood reveals kinetics of lymphocyte infiltration in the aging mouse prostate

Aging is a significant risk factor for disease in several tissues, including the prostate. Defining the kinetics of age-related changes in these tissues is critical for identifying regulators of aging and evaluating interventions to slow the aging process and reduce disease risk. An altered immune microenvironment is characteristic of prostatic aging in mice, but whether features of aging in the prostate emerge predominantly in old age or earlier in adulthood has not previously been established. Using highly multiplexed immune profiling and timecourse analysis, we tracked the abundance of 29 immune cell clusters in the aging mouse prostate. Early in adulthood, myeloid cells comprise the vast majority of immune cells in the 3-month-old mouse prostate. Between 6 and 12 months of age, there is a profound shift towards a T and B lymphocyte-dominant mouse prostate immune microenvironment. Comparing the prostate to other urogenital tissues, we found similar features of age-related inflammation in the mouse bladder but not the kidney. In summary, our study offers new insight into the kinetics of prostatic inflammaging and the window when interventions to slow down agerelated changes may be most effective.

Automated summary

Aging is a significant risk factor for prostate disease, and understanding the dynamics of age-related changes in the prostate is crucial for interventions to slow down aging and reduce disease risk. Our study analyzed the immune cell composition in aging mouse prostate and found a shift from myeloid cells to T and B lymphocytes dominance during adulthood. Similar age-related inflammation features were observed in the mouse bladder but not in the kidney. This study provides new insights into the kinetics of prostatic aging and the potential effectiveness of interventions.