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Understanding the Mechanisms of Immune System Aging: Immune System Cell Development and Antibody Repertoires

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Health and Cognition in Old Age

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Aging ((Int. Perspect. Aging,volume 10))

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Abstract

The incidence of infectious diseases, autoimmune syndromes, and various forms of cancer is elevated in older adults, and consequently, age-related changes in adaptive immunity have been studied extensively. These age-related changes include reduced antibody production after immunization or infection, reduced affinities of the antibodies produced, and the increased production of autoantibodies. To understand the increased susceptibility to disease with age, it is necessary to study the age-related changes in the immune system. Lymphocytes are small white blood cells that are predominantly responsible for the activities of the immune system. The two major classes of lymphocytes are B cells and T cells, both of which recognize specific antigen targets and are responsible for the learning and memory of the immune system. B cells are also responsible for antibody production. A shift in the phenotypes of these cells from naïve cells to memory lymphocytes is seen with advancing age and this shift could explain the reduced capacity of older adults to produce immune responses to antigens that they have not previously encountered. The mechanisms underlying these age-related changes in B-cell function have not yet been clarified. This chapter focuses on how the repertoire diversity, population dynamics, and functions of B cells alter during the aging process. These findings extend our understanding of age-related adaptive immunity and may in the future provide a basis for interventions that delay immunosenescence. Understanding the reasons for age-related changes in the mechanisms that control B-cell populations is critical if we are to develop technologies to overcome these defects.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported in part by the Israel Science Foundation (grant number 270/09) and a grant from the BIU-Sheba joint research fund (to RM et al); a Human Frontiers Science Program Research Grant to RM and DDW; and grants from the Swedish MRC, the Magnus Bergvalls Foundation and the Karolinska Institutet (to FC). Gitit Lavy-Shahaf is supported by an ERAAGE FLARE postdoctoral fellowship, financed by the Israel ministry of health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Gitit Lavy Shahaf Ph.D., Helena Hazanov, Dana Averbuch & Ramit Mehr

  2. Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sylvie Amu & Francesca Chiodi

  3. Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, King’s College London School of Medicine, London, SE1 9RT, UK

    Alex Ademokun, Yu-Chang Wu & Deborah Dunn-Walters

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  1. Gitit Lavy Shahaf Ph.D.
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  2. Helena Hazanov
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  3. Dana Averbuch
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  4. Sylvie Amu
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Correspondence to Gitit Lavy Shahaf Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education, University of Luxembourg, Walferdange, Luxembourg

    Anja K. Leist

  2. Gerontology Research Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Jenni Kulmala

  3. Mental Health Promotion Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, THL, Vaasa, Finland

    Fredrica Nyqvist

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Shahaf, G.L. et al. (2014). Understanding the Mechanisms of Immune System Aging: Immune System Cell Development and Antibody Repertoires. In: Leist, A., Kulmala, J., Nyqvist, F. (eds) Health and Cognition in Old Age. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06650-9_4

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