T-cell cycle and immunosenescence: Role of aging in the T-cell proliferative behaviour and status quo maintenance

Abstract

Organismal aging is affecting the performance of the immune system of mammals (including human one, being the topic of this chapter), and usually is associated with decreased ability to built adequate immune response to new and even cognate antigenic challenges on one side, and with reported increased frequency of autoimmune reactivity against own antigens [34, 61, 64] (but see the chapter by Ewa Bryl and JMW in this volume). Common manifestations of this immunological impairment are thus increased susceptibility (and more difficult curability) of infectious diseases (which in the old age become one of the most important killers despite the achievements of modern western medicine), as well as increased frequencies of at least certain malignancies.