reviewAnnals of the American Thoracic SocietyDec 1, 2016GREEN OA

Aging of the Immune System. Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets

CMCornelia M. WeyandJJJörg J. Goronzy

Stanford University

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

Beginning with the sixth decade of life, the human immune system undergoes dramatic aging-related changes, which continuously progress to a state of immunosenescence. The aging immune system loses the ability to protect against infections and cancer and fails to support appropriate wound healing. Vaccine responses are typically impaired in older individuals. Conversely, inflammatory responses mediated by the innate immune system gain in intensity and duration, rendering older individuals susceptible to tissue-damaging immunity and inflammatory disease. Immune system aging functions as an accelerator for other age-related pathologies. It occurs prematurely in some clinical conditions, most prominently in…

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541
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Authors

2

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Immune system
  • Immunosenescence
  • Medicine
  • Immunology
  • Telomere
  • Inflammation
  • Innate immune system
  • Premature aging
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Good health and well-being
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