Neutrophils Play a Role in the Age-Related Decline of Hematopoietic Function

Hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells in the bone marrow produce the red blood cells and immune cells needed for the body to function. Changes in this hematopoietic system make up one the major factors in the age-related decline of the immune system into the incapacity of immunosenescence and chronic inflammatory state known as inflammaging. There is a decline in the diversity of cell populations tasked with producing immune cells, and the types of immune cell produced shifts to favor myeloid lineages of the innate immune system over lymphoid lineages of the adaptive immune system. The age-related decline of the immune system is in part a feedback loop; dysfunction in immune cells produced in the bone marrow leads to inflammation and altered signaling in the bone marrow, leading to changes in production of immune cells, and consequent greater dysfunction in the immune system. Inflammatory signaling is the obvious suspect when considering how immune cells can disrupt stem cell function, but there are likely other mechanisms at work. In this context, today's open access paper is interesting for the demonstration that the myeloid-derived neutrophil population plays a role in hematopoietic dysfunction with age. Unfortunately these cells are necessary to a robust immune defense, so one can't just take the approach used here, removing the entire neutrophil population. The next step must be to identify the specific mechanisms involved, and find ways to interven...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs