T cell senescence and cardiovascular diseases

Jul 20, 2015Clinical and experimental medicine

Aging of immune T cells and heart and blood vessel diseases

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Abstract

Immunosenescence is associated with significant changes in T cell immunity, impacting health and survival in the elderly.

Age-related immune changes can lead to a weakened immune response in older individuals.
Notable alterations in T cell immunity include reduced diversity of T cell receptors and shifts in T cell populations.
Senescent T cells are capable of producing high levels of proinflammatory substances.
These senescent T cells may contribute to the development of chronic inflammatory diseases, including cardiovascular conditions.
The potential role of senescent T cells in cardiovascular diseases highlights their impact on health in older populations.

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Age-related changes in the immune system, commonly termed "immunosenescence," contribute to deterioration of the immune response and fundamentally impact the health and survival of elderly individuals. Immunosenescence affects both the innate and adaptive immune systems; however, the most notable changes are in T cell immunity and include thymic involution, the collapse of T cell receptor (TCR) diversity, an imbalance in T cell populations, and the clonal expansion of senescent T cells. Senescent T cells have the ability to produce large quantities of proinflammatory cytokines and cytotoxic mediators; thus, they have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many chronic inflammatory diseases. Recently, an increasing body of evidence has suggested that senescent T cells also have pathogenic potential in cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction, underscoring the detrimental roles of these cells in various chronic inflammatory responses. Given that cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, there is great interest in understanding the contribution of age-related immunological changes to its pathogenesis. In this review, we discuss general features of age-related alterations in T cell immunity and the possible roles of senescent T cells in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.

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T cell senescence and cardiovascular diseases

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