Age-Associated Decline in Effective Immune Synapse Formation of CD4+ T Cells Is Reversed by Vitamin E Supplementation

Aging is associated with reduced IL-2 production and T cell proliferation. Vitamin E supplementation, in aged animals and humans, increases cell division and IL-2 production by naive T cells. The immune synapse forms at the site of contact between a T cell and an APC and participates in T cell activ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of immunology (1950) 2007-02, Vol.178 (3), p.1443-1449
Main Authors: Marko, Melissa G, Ahmed, Tanvir, Bunnell, Stephen C, Wu, Dayong, Chung, Heekyung, Huber, Brigitte T, Meydani, Simin Nikbin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging - immunology
Animals
Antigen Presentation - drug effects
Antigen-Presenting Cells
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - cytology
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology
Cell Communication - drug effects
Cell Communication - immunology
Coculture Techniques
Dietary Supplements
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Signal Transduction - drug effects
Signal Transduction - immunology
Vitamin E - pharmacology
Vitamin E - therapeutic use
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Aging is associated with reduced IL-2 production and T cell proliferation. Vitamin E supplementation, in aged animals and humans, increases cell division and IL-2 production by naive T cells. The immune synapse forms at the site of contact between a T cell and an APC and participates in T cell activation. We evaluated whether vitamin E affects the redistribution of signaling proteins to the immune synapse. Purified CD4(+) T cells, from the spleens of young and old mice, were treated with vitamin E before stimulation with a surrogate APC expressing anti-CD3. Using confocal fluorescent microscopy, we observed that CD4(+) T cells from old mice were significantly less likely to recruit signaling proteins to the immune synapse than cells from young mice. Vitamin E increased the percentage of old CD4(+) T cells capable of forming an effective immune synapse. Similar results were found following in vivo supplementation with vitamin E. When compared with memory cells, naive T cells from aged mice were more defective in immune synapse formation and were more responsive to vitamin E supplementation. These data show, for the first time, that vitamin E significantly improves age-related early T cell signaling events in naive CD4(+) T cells.
ISSN:0022-1767
1550-6606
DOI:10.4049/jimmunol.178.3.1443