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Why old immune systems get creaky
T cells in older people are especially sensitive to a self-destruct message, perhaps a clue to why the immune system loses its zip as a person ages.
References:
Aggarwal, S., S. Gollapudi, and S. Gupta. 1999. Increased TNF-a-induced apoptosis in lymphocytes from aged humans: Changes in TNF-a receptor expression and activation of caspases. Journal of Immunology 162(Feb. 15).
Gupta, S. 1999. Apoptosis of lymphocytes in aging (Abstract A-44). In 1999 AAAS Annual Meeting and Science Innovation Exposition: Challenges for a New Century, C.J. Boyd, ed. American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Readings:
Aggarwal, S., and S. Gupta. 1998. Increased apoptosis of T cell subsets in aging humans: Altered expression of Fas (CD95), Fas ligand, Bcl-2, and Bax. Journal of Immunology 160(Feb. 15):1627.
Travis, J. 1997. Thanks, Ma, my brain needed that. Science News 152(Nov. 8):298.
______. 1997. Staying alive: Cell protein guards cancers. Science News 152(Aug. 9):85.
______. 1996. Cell suicide gets out of control. Science News 150(Nov. 16):316.
Vergano, D. 1997. Natural-born killers. Science News 151(Feb. 8):88.
Sources:
Sudhir Gupta
University of California, Irvine
Department of Basic and Clinical Immunology
C-240 Medical Sciences I
Irvine, CA 92697
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 7, February 13, 1999, p. 107. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
