Immunosenescence and infectious diseases

Ginaldi, Lia; Loreto, M. F.; Corsi, M; Modesti, Marco; Martinis, Massimo De

doi:10.1016/s1286-4579(01)01443-5

Cited by 250 publications

(223 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Older individuals also have an increased incidence of bacterial infections in the lungs, urinary tract, skin and soft tissues in addition to a higher incidence of tuberculosis and herpes zoster reactivation. Infections in the elderly often are more severe and are likely to result in fatalities (Ginaldi et al ., 2001;Meyer, 2001). The increased incidence of infections and bacterial colonization suggest possible defects in the ability of epithelial cells and macrophages to function as effective barriers, to detect PAMPs and to establish effective antibacterial responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innate immunity in aging: impact on macrophage function

et al. 2004

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SummaryInnate and adaptive immune functions decline with age, leading to increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and cancer, and reduced responses to preventive vaccination in the elderly population. Macrophages function as 'pathogen sensors' and play an important role in the initiation of inflammatory responses, elimination of pathogens, manipulation of the adaptive immune response and reparation of damaged tissue. In this paper, we review the literature addressing the impact of aging on the macrophage population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innate immunity in aging: impact on macrophage function

et al. 2004

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“…For example, whereas there is evidence from contemporary human populations that high reproductive effort might increase the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in females (20), childbearing may also protect females from ovarian and pancreatic cancers (21,22). Although the relationship between longevity and immunosenescence is well described in the medical literature (23,24), the potential association between accelerated immunosenescence and high reproductive effort has not been investigated.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerated immunosenescence in preindustrial twin mothers

Helle

Lummaa

Jokela

2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Life-history theory predicts a tradeoff between reproductive effort and lifespan. It has been suggested that this tradeoff is a result of reproductive costs accelerating senescence of the immune system, leading to earlier death. Longevity costs of reproduction are suggested for some human populations, but whether high reproductive effort leads to impaired immune function is unknown. We examined how reproductive effort affected postreproductive survival and the probability of dying of an infectious disease in women born in preindustrial Finland between 1702 and 1859. We found that mothers delivering twins had reduced postreproductive survival after age 65. This effect arose because mothers of twins had a higher probability of succumbing to an infectious disease (mainly tuberculosis) than mothers delivering singletons. The risk among mothers of twins of dying of an infectious disease was further elevated if mothers had started reproducing early. In contrast, neither female postreproductive survival nor the risk of succumbing to an infectious disease was influenced by the total number of offspring produced. Our results provide evidence of a long-term survival cost of twinning in humans and indicate that the mechanism mediating this cost might have been accelerated immunosenescence.immune function ͉ cost of reproduction ͉ longevity ͉ reproductive effort ͉ tuberculosis

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“…In humans, as well as in many other species, it is becoming recognized that the immune system declines with age (immunosenescence), which leads to a higher incidence of infections, cancers and autoimmune diseases (Pawelec G, 1999). Immunosenescence involves both the host's capacity to respond to infections and the development of long-term immune memory, especially by vaccination (Muszkat M & Al, 2003;Aspinall R & Al, 2007;Jackson MI & Al, 2008;Boog CJP, 2009), therefore it is considered a major contributory factor to the increased frequency of morbidity and mortality among the elderly (Ginaldi, L & Al, 2001) Immunosenescence is a multifactorial condition leading to many pathologically significant health problems in the aged population. Some of the age-dependent biological changes that contribute to the onset of immunosenescence are listed in Table 1.…”

Section: Immunosenescencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a decline in humoral immunity caused by a reduction in the population of antibody producing B-cells along with a smaller immunoglobulin diversity and affinity (Han S & Al, 2003) As age advances, there is a decline in both the production of new naive lymphocytes (Hakim FT & Gress RE, 2007), and the functional competence of memory cell populations, with increased frequency and severity of diseases such as cancer, chronic inflammatory disorders and autoimmunity (Ginaldi L & Al, 2001) .…”

Section: Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%