Perspective Volume 1, Issue 2 pp 146—153
Is thymocyte development functional in the aged?
- 1 Infection & Immunity and Genes & Development Group, Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, UK
Received: February 1, 2009 Accepted: February 10, 2009 Published: February 17, 2009
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.100027How to Cite
Copyright: © 2009 Aw et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
T cells are an integral part of a functional immune system with the majority being produced in the thymus. Of all the changes related to immunosenescence, regression of the thymus is considered one of the most universally recognised alterations. Despite the reduction of thymic size, there is evidence to suggest that T cell output is still present into old age, albeit much diminished; leading to the assumption that thymocyte development is normal. However, current data suggests that recent thymic emigrant from the aged thymus are functionally less responsive, giving rise to the possibility that the generation of naïve T cell may be intrinsically impaired in the elderly. In light of these findings we discuss the evidence that suggest aged T cells may be flawed even before exiting to the periphery and could contribute to the age-associated decline in immune function.