Different IL-8 production by T and NK lymphocytes in elderly subjects

A gradual decline in the functional activity of the immune system is described with advancing age. The adaptive immune system seems the most severely affected, but some age-associated modifications also occurs in NK cells. Several studies investigated the age related changes of cytokine production,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mechanisms of ageing and development 2001-09, Vol.122 (13), p.1383-1395
Main Authors: Mariani, Erminia, Pulsatelli, Lia, Meneghetti, Alessandra, Dolzani, Paolo, Mazzetti, Ilaria, Neri, Simona, Ravaglia, Giovanni, Forti, Paola, Facchini, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activation
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Ageing
Aging - immunology
Female
Humans
IL-8
Interleukin-8 - biosynthesis
Interleukin-8 - metabolism
Killer Cells, Natural - cytology
Killer Cells, Natural - immunology
Male
NK cells
Phenotype
T lymphocytes
T-Lymphocytes - cytology
T-Lymphocytes - immunology
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:A gradual decline in the functional activity of the immune system is described with advancing age. The adaptive immune system seems the most severely affected, but some age-associated modifications also occurs in NK cells. Several studies investigated the age related changes of cytokine production, while little is known about chemokines, whose importance in regulating immune-response becomes even more evident. In this study we investigated whether the ability of T lymphocytes and NK cells to produce IL-8, either spontaneously or after activation, respectively with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody or interleukin 2 (IL-2) was affected by age. We demonstrated that: (a) T lymphocytes and NK cells spontaneously produced detectable amounts of IL-8; (b) anti-CD3 stimulation of T lymphocytes significantly increased IL-8 production and the increment was more evident in the nonagenarian subjects; (c) similarly, IL-2 stimulation of NK cells rose the production of IL-8 but the amount produced by the old was lower than the one produced by the young group. Because of the co-stimulatory role of chemokines on NK responses and given the demonstrated importance of NK cells in defence against viral infections, the decreased production of IL-8 can be involved in the defective functional activity of NK cells from old subjects.
ISSN:0047-6374
1872-6216
DOI:10.1016/S0047-6374(01)00270-6