Human innate immunosenescence: causes and consequences for immunity in old age.

Full Abstract

The past decade has seen an explosion in research focusing on innate immunity. Through a wide range of mechanisms including phagocytosis, intracellular killing and activation of proinflammatory or antiviral cytokine production, the cells of the innate immune system initiate and support adaptive immunity. The effects of aging on innate immune responses remain incompletely understood, particularly in humans. Here we review advances in the study of human immunosenescence in the diverse cells of the innate immune system, including neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, natural killer and natural killer T (NKT) cells and dendritic cells-with a focus on consequences for the response to infection or vaccination in old age.

Author information

Author/s: Panda, Alexander (A); Arjona, Alvaro (A); Sapey, Elizabeth (E); Bai, Fengwei (F); Fikrig, Erol (E); Montgomery, Ruth R (RR); Lord, Janet M (JM); Shaw, Albert C (AC);

Affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

Grants: AI 070343 (Agency:NIAID NIH HHS) ; N01-AI-50031 (Agency:NIAID NIH HHS) ; (Agency:Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: Trends in immunology (Trends Immunol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 30 (issue 7) : pp 325-33

Dates: Created 2009/07/06; Completed 2009/09/28;

PMID: 19541535, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/28/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.