Analysis of T and NK cell subsets in the Sicilian population from young to supercentenarian: The role of age and gender

TY - JOUR

T1 - Analysis of T and NK cell subsets in the Sicilian population from young to supercentenarian

T2 - The role of age and gender

AU - Ligotti, Mattia Emanuela

AU - Aiello, Anna

AU - Accardi, Giulia

AU - Aprile, Stefano

AU - Bonura, Floriana

AU - Bulati, Matteo

AU - Gervasi, Francesco

AU - Giammanco, Giovanni M.

AU - Pojero, Fanny

AU - Zareian, Nahid

AU - Caruso, Calogero

AU - Farzaneh, Farzin

AU - Candore, Giuseppina

N1 - Funding Information: The research was funded by Italian Ministry of University (PRIN: progetti di ricerca di rilevante interesse nazionale—Bando 2015 Prot 20157ATSLF Discovery of molecular and genetic/epigenetic signatures underlying resistance to age‐related diseases and comorbidities) to C. C. and G. C. Work in the Molecular Medicine Group at King’s College London was supported by CRUK, the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRC) based at King’s Health Partners. The authors thank Doctor Sergio Rizzo, Chief of Unit of Transfusion Medicine of University Hospital ‘Paolo Giaccone’ for performing leukocyte counts. The authors also thank all the donors for their kind participation in this study. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Clinical & Experimental Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Immunology Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/7/12

Y1 - 2021/7/12

N2 - Ageing dramatically affects number and function of both innate and adaptive arms of immune system, particularly T cell subsets, contributing to reduced vaccination efficacy, decreased resistance to infections and increased prevalence of cancer in older people. In the present paper, we analysed the age-related changes in the absolute number of lymphocytes in 214 Sicilian subjects, and in the percentages of T and natural killer (NK) cells in a subcohort of donors. We compared these results with the immunophenotype of the oldest living Italian supercentenarian (aged 111 years). The results were also sorted by gender. The correlation between number/percentage of cells and age in all individuals. and separately in males and females, was examined using a simple linear regression analysis. We did not record the increase in the rate of inversion of the CD4/CD8 ratio, frequently reported as being associated with ageing in literature. Our observation was the direct consequence of a flat average trend of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell percentages in ageing donors, even when gender differences were included. Our results also suggest that CD4+ and CD8+ subsets are not affected equally by age comparing females with males, and we speculated that gender may affect the response to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The supercentenarian showed a unique immunophenotypic signature regarding the relative percentages of her T cell subsets, with CD4+ and CD8+ T cell percentages and CD4+ naive T cell values in line with those recorded for the octogenarian subjects. This suggests that the supercentenarian has a naive ‘younger’ T cell profile comparable to that of a >80-year-old female.

AB - Ageing dramatically affects number and function of both innate and adaptive arms of immune system, particularly T cell subsets, contributing to reduced vaccination efficacy, decreased resistance to infections and increased prevalence of cancer in older people. In the present paper, we analysed the age-related changes in the absolute number of lymphocytes in 214 Sicilian subjects, and in the percentages of T and natural killer (NK) cells in a subcohort of donors. We compared these results with the immunophenotype of the oldest living Italian supercentenarian (aged 111 years). The results were also sorted by gender. The correlation between number/percentage of cells and age in all individuals. and separately in males and females, was examined using a simple linear regression analysis. We did not record the increase in the rate of inversion of the CD4/CD8 ratio, frequently reported as being associated with ageing in literature. Our observation was the direct consequence of a flat average trend of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell percentages in ageing donors, even when gender differences were included. Our results also suggest that CD4+ and CD8+ subsets are not affected equally by age comparing females with males, and we speculated that gender may affect the response to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The supercentenarian showed a unique immunophenotypic signature regarding the relative percentages of her T cell subsets, with CD4+ and CD8+ T cell percentages and CD4+ naive T cell values in line with those recorded for the octogenarian subjects. This suggests that the supercentenarian has a naive ‘younger’ T cell profile comparable to that of a >80-year-old female.

KW - CMV

KW - gender

KW - supercentenarian

KW - T lymphocyte subsets

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107917776&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/cei.13606

DO - 10.1111/cei.13606

M3 - Article

C2 - 33866541

AN - SCOPUS:85107917776

SN - 0009-9104

VL - 205

SP - 198

EP - 212

JO - Clinical and Experimental Immunology

JF - Clinical and Experimental Immunology

IS - 2

ER -