Abstract
The immune response changes within aging. Aged persons >65 years old display a predisposition to inflammation and infection combined with an increase in morbidity and mortality than younger individuals. Extensive studies about consequences of aging on adaptive immunity exist, but the effects of aging on the innate immune system remain only partly understood. Neutrophil granulocytes (polymorphonuclear leukocytes, PMN) as the largest leukocyte population in blood build the first line of defense against pathogenic microorganisms and play an important role in regulation of the immune response. In vitro studies demonstrate that PMN functions such as phagocytosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, intracellular killing, neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, and chemotaxis are changed in elderly persons, whereas the number of circulating neutrophils is unaltered compared to young persons. However, data from different studies regarding PMN functions are still inconsistent due to different isolation and analysis techniques, contaminating cells, and preactivation. Interestingly, most of the adhesion surface molecules/receptors of PMN are not impaired in function and expression with age. But age-related alterations in receptor-dependent signal transduction, membrane content, and fluidity may result in a decline of PMN function and rescue from apoptosis. Studies investigating age-associated defects of basophil and eosinophil granulocytes are limited, mainly due to their low number in periphery. These cells mediate protection against infections with parasites and are involved in antigen presentation, T-helper 2 cell differentiation, but promote inflammatory responses in allergy and autoimmune diseases. This chapter gives an overview about the age-related modulations in human granulocytes.
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Uciechowski, P., Rink, L. (2019). Neutrophil, Basophil, and Eosinophil Granulocyte Functions in the Elderly. In: Fulop, T., Franceschi, C., Hirokawa, K., Pawelec, G. (eds) Handbook of Immunosenescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99375-1_22
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