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Age-Specific T Cell Homeostasis

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Immunosenescence

  • 149 Accesses

Abstract

Multiples defects affect adaptive immunity during aging: T cell production (both at thymic and peripheral sites), T cell activation (including TCR sensitivity, proliferation, and differentiation), T cell functions, and T cell survival. Most of these defects directly impact T cell homeostasis. Indeed T cell homeostasis refers to the maintenance of steady state in the body and the physiological processes through which they are regulated. This mechanism ensures a close equilibrium between T cell production and death, two aspects that are drastically affected during aging.

The aim of this chapter is to review the changes in T cell homeostasis developing during aging. We will first review the main homeostatic mechanisms that have been described so far in adult individuals. In a second part, we will document the age-related events that crucially impact T cell homeostasis and the resulting effects on peripheral T cell pools. Finally, the potential benefits of regenerative therapies aiming to restore T cell homeostasis will be discussed.

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Abbreviations

CMV:

Cytomegalovirus

HSC:

Hematopoietic stem cells

IL:

Interleukin

TCR:

T cell repertoire

TEC:

Thymic epithelial cell

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U1184, Centre d’Immunologie des maladies virales et auto-immunes (IMVA), Université Paris SUD, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

    Christine Bourgeois

  2. INSERM, U1135, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France

    Delphine Sauce

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  1. Christine Bourgeois
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  2. Delphine Sauce
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Correspondence to Delphine Sauce .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatrics Research Center on Aging, University of Sherbrooke Dept. of Medicine, Sherbrooke, Québec, 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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Bourgeois, C., Sauce, D. (2018). Age-Specific T Cell Homeostasis. 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_81-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64597-1_81-1

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