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Cellular aging and senescence characteristics of human T-lymphocytes

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Abstract

CD28−, CD57+ and KLRG1+ are cell surface markers that have been used to describe senescent T-lymphocytes in humans. However, the relationship among these phenotypes during aging, and their relationship with the concept of in vitro cellular aging have not been well established. Using five-colour flow cytometry, we analyzed peripheral blood T-lymphocytes for their expression of CD28, CD57 and KLRG1 in 11 young (Y) and 11 old (O) apparently healthy human subjects. The proportions of CD28− and CD57+ cells were significantly higher among the T-cell populations of O compared to Y subjects; the proportion of KLRG1+ cells was significantly higher only among CD8+ cells. Populations that were more frequent in the elderly participants were characterised as CD28+ CD57+, CD28− CD57+ or CD28− CD57−. The expression of p16 and p21, considered as markers for in vitro senescence, was higher in CD28+ CD57+ cells than in other subpopulations in both age groups. The expression of p21 was age-related, which was not the case for p16. Thus, although both p16 and p21 are involved in T-cell senescence, they appear to behave differently. CMV infection and shifts in subpopulations are unlikely as explanations of the observed differences. Their higher levels of p16 and p21 expression, coupled with their higher prevalence in the elderly participants make CD28+ CD57+ cells the subpopulation of T-cells most closely corresponding to the concept of senescent cells.

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Acknowledgment

The study was supported by a scientific grant from the “Wetenschappelijk Fonds Willy Gepts” from the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel. We thank Prof. Hanspeter Pircher for the gift of anti KLRG1 antibodies and Prof. A. Naessens for the determination of the anti-CMV antibodies.

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  1. Gerontology Department and Frailty in Aging Research (FRIA) Group, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Oscar Okwudiri Onyema, Rose Njemini, Ivan Bautmans & Tony Mets

  2. Department of Hematology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Wim Renmans & Marc De Waele

  3. Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Tony Mets

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  1. Oscar Okwudiri Onyema
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Correspondence to Tony Mets.

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Onyema, O.O., Njemini, R., Bautmans, I. et al. Cellular aging and senescence characteristics of human T-lymphocytes. Biogerontology 13, 169–181 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-011-9366-z

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