Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Clinical Investigation logoLink to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
. 1982 Jul;70(1):201–204. doi: 10.1172/JCI110594

Null cell senescence and its potential significance to the immunobiology of aging.

J J Twomey, R J Luchi, N M Kouttab
PMCID: PMC370243  PMID: 6979555

Abstract

The null cell compartments of human bone marrow and mouse spleen were arbitrarily divided into three subpopulations based upon the ability of cells to acquire T or B cell membrane markers when incubated with poly A:U or ubiquitin. There was an accumulation of T cell precursors with congenital absence of the thymus. In contrast, T cell precursors were reduced and there was an accumulation of uninduced null cells with old age. These observations suggest that there is an intrinsic defect of null cell differentiation with a drift towards more differentiated precursors in T cell differentiation with aging. This could result in a diminution in the range of responses by their progeny, mature T lymphocytes.

Full text

PDF
201

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Antel J. P., Weinrich M., Arnason B. G. Circulating suppressor cells in man as a function of age. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1978 Jan;9(1):134–141. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(78)90130-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Callard R. E., Fazekas de St Groth B., Basten A., McKenzie I. F. Immune function in aged mice. V. Role of suppressor cells. J Immunol. 1980 Jan;124(1):52–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Doria G., D'Agostaro G., Garavini M. Age-dependent changes of B-cell reactivity and T cell-T cell interaction in the in vitro antibody response. Cell Immunol. 1980 Jul 15;53(1):195–206. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(80)90438-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Doria G., D'Agostaro G., Poretti A. Age-dependent variations of antibody avidity. Immunology. 1978 Oct;35(4):601–611. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gerbase-DeLima M., Wilkinson J., Smith G. S., Walford R. L. Age-related decline in thymic-independent immune function in a long-lived mouse strain. J Gerontol. 1974 May;29(3):261–268. doi: 10.1093/geronj/29.3.261. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Goidl E. A., Innes J. B., Weksler M. E. Immunological studies of aging. II. Loss of IgG and high avidity plaque-forming cells and increased suppressor cell activity in aging mice. J Exp Med. 1976 Oct 1;144(4):1037–1048. doi: 10.1084/jem.144.4.1037. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Goodwin J. S., Messner R. P. Sensitivity of lymphocytes to prostaglandin E2 increases in subjects over age 70. J Clin Invest. 1979 Aug;64(2):434–439. doi: 10.1172/JCI109480. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gupta S., Good R. A. Subpopulations of human T lymphocytes. X. Alterations in T, B, third population cells, and T cells with receptors for immunoglobulin M (Tmu) or G (Tgamma) in aging humans. J Immunol. 1979 Apr;122(4):1214–1219. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Krogsrud R. L., Perkins E. H. Age-related changes in T cell function. J Immunol. 1977 May;118(5):1607–1611. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lewis V. M., Twomey J. J., Bealmear P., Goldstein G., Good R. A. Age, thymic involution, and circulating thymic hormone activity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1978 Jul;47(1):145–150. doi: 10.1210/jcem-47-1-145. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mackay I. R. Ageing and immunological function in man. Gerontologia. 1972;18(5-6):285–304. doi: 10.1159/000211941. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Makinodan T., Perkins E. H., Chen M. G. Immunologicc activity of the aged. Adv Gerontol Res. 1971;3:171–198. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Miller A. E. Selective decline in cellular immune response to varicella-zoster in the elderly. Neurology. 1980 Jun;30(6):582–587. doi: 10.1212/wnl.30.6.582. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Roberts-Thomson I. C., Whittingham S., Youngchaiyud U., Mackay I. R. Ageing, immune response, and mortality. Lancet. 1974 Aug 17;2(7877):368–370. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)91755-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Scheid M. P., Goldstein G., Hammerling U., Boyse E. A. Lymphocyte differentiation from precursor cells in vitro. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Feb 28;249:531–540. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb29102.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Twomey J. J., Kouttab N. M. The null cell compartment of the mouse spleen. Cell Immunol. 1981 Sep 1;63(1):106–117. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(81)90032-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Weksler M. C., Innes J. D., Goldstein G. Immunological studies of aging. IV. The contribution of thymic involution to the immune deficiencies of aging mice and reversal with thymopoietin32-36. J Exp Med. 1978 Oct 1;148(4):996–1006. doi: 10.1084/jem.148.4.996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Weksler M. E. The senescence of the immune system. Hosp Pract (Off Ed) 1981 Oct;16(10):53–64. doi: 10.1080/21548331.1981.11946847. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Investigation are provided here courtesy of American Society for Clinical Investigation

RESOURCES