CD8 < sup > + < /sup > T-cell metabolism is related to cerebrovascular function in middle-aged adults

Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2024 Feb 26. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00267.2023. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) decreases with advancing age, contributing to increased risk of cognitive impairment; however, the mechanisms underlying the age-related decrease in CVR are incompletely understood. Age-related changes to T-cells, such as impaired mitochondrial respiration increase inflammation which likely contribute peripheral and cerebrovascular dysfunction in animals. However, whether T-cell mitochondrial respiration is related to cerebrovascular function in humans is not known. Therefore, we hypothesized that peripheral T-cell mitochondrial respiration would be positively associated with cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and that T-cell glycolytic metabolism would be negatively associated with CVR. Twenty (20) middle-aged adults (58 ± 5 years) were recruited for this study. T-cells were separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Cellular oxygen consumption rate (OCR), and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR, a marker of glycolytic activity) were measured using extracellular flux analysis. CVR was quantified using the breath-hold index (BHI) which reflects the change in blood velocity in the middle-cerebral artery (MCAv) during a 30-second breath-hold. In contrast to our hypothesis, we found that basal OCR in CD8+ T-cells (β=-0.59, R2=0.27, P=0.019) was negatively associated with BHI. However, in accordance with our hypothesis, we...

Source: American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology - February 26, 2024 Category: Physiology Authors: Theodore Mark DeConne Ibra S Fancher David G Edwards Daniel W Trott Christopher R Martens Source Type: research