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A Robust Characterization of Inflamm-Aging and Other Immune Processes Through Multivariate Analysis of Cytokines from Longitudinal Studies

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Handbook of Immunosenescence

Abstract

Chronic low-grade inflammation has long been considered an important part of the aging process (“inflamm-aging”). However, measurement of this process is highly variable across studies, often relying on a single marker such as C-reactive protein or interleukin-6, despite evidence for greater complexity. Several studies have now tackled multivariate approaches to integrating the signals of multiple inflammation-related cytokines in order to measure the process of inflamm-aging. On the surface, the results appear discordant, even when using the same data set. Here we review and compare these studies. We show that apparent discrepancies can easily be explained by minor methodological differences across studies. There is a single, coherent interpretation of inflamm-aging as a simultaneous up-regulation of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. This interpretation is robustly detectable with different methods and data sets. Single markers do not provide a reliable signal, but small numbers of markers can be easily integrated to provide a much more reliable metric. We recommend a minimum of 3–4 markers, including one of the soluble TNF receptors, IL-6, and some choice within TNF-α, IL-1RA, IL-18, and CRP. More broadly, these findings confirm the need for multivariate and complex systems approaches to understand underlying physiological processes.

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Acknowledgments

Alan A. Cohen is a member of the FRQ-S-supported Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement and Centre de recherche du CHUS. This research was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant #s 110789, 120305, 119485, 106634, and 106701 and by NSERC Discovery Grant # 402079-2011, as well as by grants from the Université de Sherbrooke and the Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement to TF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PRIMUS Research Group, Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Alan A. Cohen & Vincent Morissette-Thomas

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Karen Bandeen-Roche

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Tamàs Fülöp

Authors
  1. Alan A. Cohen
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  2. Karen Bandeen-Roche
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  3. Vincent Morissette-Thomas
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  4. Tamàs Fülöp
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alan A. Cohen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatrics Research Center on Aging, University of Sherbrooke Dept. of Medicine, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Tamas Fulop

  2. Dept of Experimental Pathology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Claudio Franceschi

  3. Institute for Health and Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsuiku Hirokawa

  4. Center for Medical Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Graham Pawelec

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Cohen, A.A., Bandeen-Roche, K., Morissette-Thomas, V., Fülöp, T. (2018). A Robust Characterization of Inflamm-Aging and Other Immune Processes Through Multivariate Analysis of Cytokines from Longitudinal Studies. In: Fulop, T., Franceschi, C., Hirokawa, K., Pawelec, G. (eds) Handbook of Immunosenescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64597-1_120-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64597-1_120-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64597-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64597-1

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