Age-Related Alterations in Immune Function and Inflammation: Focus on Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

The aging of the global population poses significant scientific challenges. Moreover, the biological process of aging is the most significant risk factor for most chronic illnesses; therefore, understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these aging-related challenges is crucial for extending the healthy lifespan of older individuals. Preventing brain aging remains a priority public health goal, and integrative and comprehensive aging analyses have revealed that immunosenescence is a potential cause of age-related brain damage and disease (e.g., stroke). Importantly, the neuroinflammatory and immune systems present two-way contact and thus can affect each other. Emerging evidence supports the numerous effects of immunosenescence- and inflammation-mediated immunity in neurologically injured brains. In this study, we briefly outline how aging alters the pathophysiology and transcriptional amplitude in patients who experienced stroke and then discuss how the immune system and its cellular components and molecular mechanisms are affected by age after stroke. Finally, we highlight emerging interventions with the potential to slow down or reduce aging and prevent stroke onset.

Comprehensive immune modulation mechanisms of Angong Niuhuang Wan in ischemic stroke: Insights from mass cytometry analysis

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