Impact of aging on antigen presentation cell function of dendritic cells.

Impact of aging on antigen presentation cell function of dendritic cells.
Curr Opin Immunol. 2013 Jun 24;
Authors: Wong C, Goldstein DR
Abstract
Older people exhibit increased mortality to infections and cancer as compared to younger people, indicating that aging impairs immunity. Dendritic cells (DCs) are key for bridging the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system by priming antigen specific T cells. Discerning how aging impacts DC function to initiate adaptive immune responses is of great biomedical importance as this could lead to the development of novel therapeutics to enhance immunity with aging. This review details reports indicating that aging impairs the antigen presenting function of DCs but highlights other studies indicating preserved DC function with aging. How aging impacts antigen presentation by DCs is complex and without a clear unifying biological underpinning.
PMID: 23806201 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Immunology - June 24, 2013 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Wong C, Goldstein DR Tags: Curr Opin Immunol Source Type: research