The Cellular Basis of Impaired T Lymphocyte Functions in the Elderly

Abe, Tohru; Morimoto, Chikao; Toguchi, T.; Kiyotaki, Masaya; Homma, Mitsuo

doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1980.tb00532.x

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Although the nature of the autologous MLR is unknown, it has been proposed to represent the mechanism by which T cells regulate B-cell function [12]. Aged individuals who were defective with regard to autologous MLR were also defective in the Con A-inducible suppressor T-cell generation [1]. It would thus be interesting to know whether the autologous MLR and Con A-inducible suppressor function are mediated by the same or different cell populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), and PWM (Difeo Lab. ), fhe doses of PHA, Con A and PWM were determined from preliminary experiments [1].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous paper we reported that the response to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A) was depressed and the mixed lymphocyte culture reaction with mitomycin-treated allogeneic and autologous non-T cells was also impaired in aged as compared to young individuals, whereas the response to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) was of the same degree. Although adherent cells of aged individuals were indistinguishable from those of young individuals with regard to their ability to respond to PHA and Con A, lymphocytes from aged individuals synthesized larger amounts of Ig than those from young individuals when stimulated with PWM [1]. One possible explanation for the increased in vitro Ig synthesis in aged lymphocytes in the presence of PWM would be a regulatory imbalance of the suppressor T-cell population.…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The effects of ageing on the immune system case, a deficiency, a dysfunction of T lymphohave attracted considerable attention recently [1,11]. In a previous paper we reported that the response to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A) was depressed and the mixed lymphocyte culture reaction with mitomycin-treated allogeneic and autologous non-T cells was also impaired in aged as compared to young individuals, whereas the response to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) was of the same degree.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Evidence of Aberration of T‐cell Subsets in Aged Individuals

et al. 1981

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In the present study, T-cell subsets from aged individuals were examined by using anti-BAT (brain-associated thymocyte antigen) serum. Anti-BAT serum was raised against the human fetal brain at 28 weeks of gestation. After absorption wit AB erythrocytes, B-cell lines, and leukaemic cells, anti-BAT serum was T cell-specific but unreactive to normal B cells. The ability of anit-BAT serum-treated lymphocytes from aged individuals to respond to concanavalin A, phytohaemagglutinin, and pokeweed mitogen (PWM) was unaltered even at a high concentration. In PWM-stimulated Ig synthesis, T lymphocytes lacking the anti-BAT serum-reactive T-cell subset enhanced the PWM-stimulated Ig synthesis of autologous B lymphocytes from young individuals. The Con A-induced suppressor function of lymphocytes from aged individuals was not significantly abolished by treatment with anti-BAT serum and complement. In the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction, the decrease in response was minimal when responder cells from aged individuals was treated with anti-BAT serum even at a high concentration. It is concluded that the T-cell subset with suppressor function is defective in aged individuals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), and PWM (Difeo Lab. ), fhe doses of PHA, Con A and PWM were determined from preliminary experiments [1].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence of Aberration of T‐cell Subsets in Aged Individuals

et al. 1981

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“…In human studies the T cell mitogen CON A has been used to activate and delineate suppressor cell activity in vitro. Recent publications have demonstrated that CON A stimulation could mediate either enhancement or suppression, depending upon mitogen concentration 24 and time of incubation, 25 suggesting that suppression or enhancement could be opposing functions of the same cell type and may reflect different states of cellular activation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytofluorographic Analysis of Pokeweed Mitogen‐stimulated Human Peripheral Blood Cells in Culture

Otte¹,

Wormsley²,

Hollingsworth³

1983

J American Geriatrics Society

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By use of monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry techniques, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from young (20-30 years) and elderly (70+ years) subjects were analyzed before and after culture with pokeweed mitogen to gain insight into the cellular interactions responsible for the decreased B cell response observed in culture samples from the elderly. Data analysis of surface immunoglobulin-positive cells demonstrated no difference in the percentage of B cells in the elderly, while both plaque-forming cell and intracytoplasmic immunoglobulin assays showed significantly reduced B cell maturation (P = less than 0.01) compared with young controls. The B cell defect was shown to be functional and not a result of failure to proliferate and survive during incubation. Surface marker analysis of T cell subpopulations demonstrated a definite shift (P = less than 0.01) in the helper/suppressor T cell ratio in cultured samples from the elderly group (3.9) compared with young subjects (1.2). In addition to the absolute increase in the helper T cell population, forward-angle light scatter analysis demonstrated that, compared with young controls, a greater portion of the helper T cell population in the elderly subjects had characteristics of activated, blast-sized cells. The data reported in this study suggest that in the elderly group there is a functional immunoregulatory imbalance in the helper T cell subset.

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