Author(s): Miller RA
Address: Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118.
Source: Prog Clin Biol Res 1989;304:249-57
Abstract: The immune system of old mice is heterogeneous, containing a mixture of long and short-lived T cells, some of which respond to activating mitogens, amid others that do not. Studies of T cell activation have revealed defects in calcium signal generation and oncogene expression, among others, that are gradually revealing the molecular basis for immunosenescence. New evidence suggests that the proportion of longer lived cells, detectable with antibodies to the PGP-1 surface glycoprotein, increases with age in mice, and that it is the PGP-1hi T cell subpopulation that is least responsive to mitogens. It is now possible to test the idea that the longest-lived T cells may contain stable components whose nonenzymatic glycosylation contributes to their poor T cell function
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