TY - JOUR
T1 - Thymus involution sets the clock of the aging T-cell landscape
T2 - Implications for declined immunity and tissue repair
AU - Elyahu, Yehezqel
AU - Monsonego, Alon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Aging is generally characterized as a gradual increase in tissue damage, which is associated with senescence and chronic systemic inflammation and is evident in a variety of age-related diseases. The extent to which such tissue damage is a result of a gradual decline in immune regulation, which consequently compromises the capacity of the body to repair damages, has not been fully explored. Whereas CD4 T lymphocytes play a critical role in the orchestration of immunity, thymus involution initiates gradual changes in the CD4 T-cell landscape, which may significantly compromise tissue repair. In this review, we describe the lifespan accumulation of specific dysregulated CD4 T-cell subsets and their coevolution with systemic inflammation in the process of declined immunity and tissue repair capacity with age. Then, we discuss the process of thymus involution—which appears to be most pronounced around puberty—as a possible driver of the aging T-cell landscape. Finally, we identify individualized T cell-based early diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for age-related diseases.
AB - Aging is generally characterized as a gradual increase in tissue damage, which is associated with senescence and chronic systemic inflammation and is evident in a variety of age-related diseases. The extent to which such tissue damage is a result of a gradual decline in immune regulation, which consequently compromises the capacity of the body to repair damages, has not been fully explored. Whereas CD4 T lymphocytes play a critical role in the orchestration of immunity, thymus involution initiates gradual changes in the CD4 T-cell landscape, which may significantly compromise tissue repair. In this review, we describe the lifespan accumulation of specific dysregulated CD4 T-cell subsets and their coevolution with systemic inflammation in the process of declined immunity and tissue repair capacity with age. Then, we discuss the process of thymus involution—which appears to be most pronounced around puberty—as a possible driver of the aging T-cell landscape. Finally, we identify individualized T cell-based early diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for age-related diseases.
KW - Aging
KW - Chronic systemic inflammation
KW - Dysregulated CD4 T cells
KW - Immune-mediated repair
KW - Thymus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097767170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101231
DO - 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101231
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33248315
AN - SCOPUS:85097767170
SN - 1568-1637
VL - 65
JO - Ageing Research Reviews
JF - Ageing Research Reviews
M1 - 101231
ER -