Lymphocyte maintenance during healthy aging requires no substantial alterations in cellular turnover

Summary In healthy humans, lymphocyte populations are maintained at a relatively constant size throughout life, reflecting a balance between lymphocyte production and loss. Given the profound immunological changes that occur during healthy aging, including a significant decline in T‐cell production...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aging cell 2015-04, Vol.14 (2), p.219-227
Main Authors: Westera, Liset, Hoeven, Vera, Drylewicz, Julia, Spierenburg, Gerrit, Velzen, Jeroen F., Boer, Rob J., Tesselaar, Kiki, Borghans, José A. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aging
Aging - immunology
Aging - physiology
B cells
Cell division
Deuterium
Disease susceptibility
Female
Flow Cytometry
healthy aging
Homeostasis
Humans
Immune system
lymphocyte turnover
Lymphocytes
Male
mathematical modeling
Original
stable isotope labeling
T cells
T-Lymphocytes - cytology
T-Lymphocytes - immunology
thymus involution
Vaccines
Water - chemistry
Young Adult
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Summary:Summary In healthy humans, lymphocyte populations are maintained at a relatively constant size throughout life, reflecting a balance between lymphocyte production and loss. Given the profound immunological changes that occur during healthy aging, including a significant decline in T‐cell production by the thymus, lymphocyte maintenance in the elderly is generally thought to require homeostatic alterations in lymphocyte dynamics. Surprisingly, using in vivo 2H2O labeling, we find similar dynamics of most lymphocyte subsets between young adult and elderly healthy individuals. As the contribution of thymic output to T‐cell production is only minor from young adulthood onward, compensatory increases in peripheral T‐cell division rates are not required to maintain the T‐cell pool, despite a tenfold decline in thymic output. These fundamental insights will aid the interpretation of further research into aging and clinical conditions related to disturbed lymphocyte dynamics.
ISSN:1474-9718
1474-9726
DOI:10.1111/acel.12311