scholarly journals The Role of Immunosenescence in Neurodegenerative Diseases

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Costantini ◽  
Chiara D’Angelo ◽  
Marcella Reale

Aging is characterized by the progressive decline of physiological function and tissue homeostasis leading to increased vulnerability, degeneration, and death. Aging-related changes of the innate and adaptive immune system include decline in the preservation and enhancement of many immune functions, such as changes in the number of circulating monocytic and dendritic cells, thymic involution, T cell polyfunctionality, or production of proinflammatory cytokines, and are defined as immunosenescence. Inflammatory functions are increased with age, causing the chronic low-grade inflammation, referred to as inflamm-aging, that contribute, together with immunosenescence, to neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss the link between the immune and nervous systems and how the immunosenescence and inflamm-aging can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3348
Author(s):  
Dorota Formanowicz ◽  
Agnieszka Rybarczyk ◽  
Marcin Radom ◽  
Piotr Formanowicz

Recent studies have shown that the innate and adaptive immune system, together with low-grade inflammation, may play an important role in essential hypertension. In this work, to verify the importance of selected factors for the development of essential hypertension, we created a Petri net-based model and analyzed it. The analysis was based mainly on t-invariants, knockouts of selected fragments of the net and its simulations. The blockade of the renin-angiotensin (RAA) system revealed that the most significant effect on the emergence of essential hypertension has RAA activation. This blockade affects: (1) the formation of angiotensin II, (2) inflammatory process (by influencing C-reactive protein (CRP)), (3) the initiation of blood coagulation, (4) bradykinin generation via the kallikrein-kinin system, (5) activation of lymphocytes in hypertension, (6) the participation of TNF alpha in the activation of the acute phase response, and (7) activation of NADPH oxidase—a key enzyme of oxidative stress. On the other hand, we found that the blockade of the activation of the RAA system may not eliminate hypertension that can occur due to disturbances associated with the osmotically independent binding of Na in the interstitium. Moreover, we revealed that inflammation alone is not enough to trigger primary hypertension, but it can coexist with it. We believe that our research may contribute to a better understanding of the pathology of hypertension. It can help identify potential subprocesses, which blocking will allow better control of essential hypertension.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jisun So ◽  
Albert K. Tai ◽  
Alice H. Lichtenstein ◽  
Dayong Wu ◽  
Stefania Lamon-Fava

AbstractSexual dimorphism in the immune system is evidenced by a higher prevalence of autoimmune diseases in women and higher susceptibility to infectious diseases in men. However, the molecular basis of these sex-based differences is not fully understood. We have characterized the transcriptome profiles of peripheral blood monocytes from males and postmenopausal females with chronic low-grade inflammation. We identified 41 sexually differentially expressed genes [adjusted p value (FDR) < 0.1], including genes involved in immune cell activation (e.g., CEACAM1, FCGR2B, and SLAMF7) and antigen presentation (e.g., AIM2, CD1E, and UBA1) with a higher expression in females than males. Moreover, signaling pathways of immune or inflammatory responses, including interferon (IFN) signaling [z-score = 2.45, -log(p) = 3.88], were found to be more upregulated in female versus male monocytes, based on a set of genes exhibiting sex-biased expression (p < 0.03). The contribution of IFN signaling to the sexual transcriptional differences was further confirmed by direct comparisons of the monocyte sex-biased genes with IFN signature genes (ISGs) that were previously curated in mouse macrophages. ISGs showed a greater overlap with female-biased genes than male-biased genes and a higher overall expression in female than male monocytes, particularly for the genes of antiviral and inflammatory responses to IFN. Given the role of IFN in immune defense and autoimmunity, our results suggest that sexual dimorphism in immune functions may be associated with more priming of innate immune pathways in female than male monocytes. These findings highlight the role of sex on the human immune transcriptome.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Del Pinto ◽  
Claudio Ferri

Low-grade chronic inflammation is a common denominator in atherogenesis and related diseases. Solid evidence supports the occurrence of an impairment in the innate and adaptive immune system with senescence, favoring the development of acute and chronic age-related diseases. Cardiovascular (CV) diseases (CVD), in particular, are a leading cause of death even at older ages. Inflammation-associated mechanisms that contribute to CVD development include dysregulated redox and metabolic pathways, genetic modifications, and infections/dysbiosis. In this review, we will recapitulate the determinants and consequences of the immune system dysfunction at older age, with particular focus on the CV system. We will examine the currently available and potential future strategies to counteract accelerated CV aging, i.e., nutraceuticals, probiotics, caloric restriction, physical activity, smoking and alcohol cessation, control of low-grade inflammation sources, senolytic and senescence-modulating drugs, and DNA-targeting drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-752
Author(s):  
Erin B. Taylor

Abstract The global obesity epidemic is a major contributor to chronic disease and disability in the world today. Since the discovery of leptin in 1994, a multitude of studies have characterized the pathological changes that occur within adipose tissue in the obese state. One significant change is the dysregulation of adipokine production. Adipokines are an indispensable link between metabolism and optimal immune system function; however, their dysregulation in obesity contributes to chronic low-grade inflammation and disease pathology. Herein, I will highlight current knowledge on adipokine structure and physiological function, and focus on the known roles of these factors in the modulation of the immune response. I will also discuss adipokines in rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.


Diabetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 469-P
Author(s):  
MILOS MRAZ ◽  
ANNA CINKAJZLOVA ◽  
ZDENA LACINOVÁ ◽  
JANA KLOUCKOVA ◽  
HELENA KRATOCHVILOVA ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Charmaine S. Tam ◽  
Leanne M. Redman

AbstractObesity is characterized by a state of chronic low-grade inflammation due to increased immune cells, specifically infiltrated macrophages into adipose tissue, which in turn secrete a range of proinflammatory mediators. This nonselective low-grade inflammation of adipose tissue is systemic in nature and can impair insulin signaling pathways, thus, increasing the risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this review is to provide an update on clinical studies examining the role of adipose tissue in the development of obesity-associated complications in humans. We will discuss adipose tissue inflammation during different scenarios of energy imbalance and metabolic dysfunction including obesity and overfeeding, weight loss by calorie restriction or bariatric surgery, and conditions of insulin resistance (diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome).


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alecia M. Blaszczak ◽  
Anahita Jalilvand ◽  
Willa A. Hsueh

The role of adipose tissue (AT) inflammation in obesity and its multiple related-complications is a rapidly expanding area of scientific interest. Within the last 30 years, the role of the adipocyte as an endocrine and immunologic cell has been progressively established. Like the macrophage, the adipocyte is capable of linking the innate and adaptive immune system through the secretion of adipokines and cytokines; exosome release of lipids, hormones, and microRNAs; and contact interaction with other immune cells. Key innate immune cells in AT include adipocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2s). The role of the innate immune system in promoting adipose tissue inflammation in obesity will be highlighted in this review. T cells and B cells also play important roles in contributing to AT inflammation and are discussed in this series in the chapter on adaptive immunity.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 1350-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian W. Kiefer ◽  
Maximilian Zeyda ◽  
Jelena Todoric ◽  
Joakim Huber ◽  
René Geyeregger ◽  
...  

Obesity is associated with a chronic low-grade inflammation characterized by macrophage infiltration of adipose tissue (AT) that may underlie the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional protein involved in various inflammatory processes, cell migration, and tissue remodeling. Because these processes occur in the AT of obese patients, we studied in detail the regulation of OPN expression in human and murine obesity. The study included 20 morbidly obese patients and 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects, as well as two models (diet-induced and genetic) of murine obesity. In high-fat diet-induced and genetically obese mice, OPN expression was drastically up-regulated in AT (40 and 80-fold, respectively) but remained largely unaltered in liver (&lt;2-fold). Moreover, OPN plasma concentrations remained unchanged in both murine models of obesity, suggesting a particular local but not systemic importance for OPN. OPN expression was strongly elevated also in the AT of obese patients compared with lean subjects in both omental and sc AT. In addition, we detected three OPN isoforms to be expressed in human AT and, strikingly, an obesity induced alteration of the OPN isoform expression pattern. Analysis of AT cellular fractions revealed that OPN is exceptionally highly expressed in AT macrophages in humans and mice. Moreover, OPN expression in AT macrophages was strongly up-regulated by obesity. In conclusion, our data point toward a specific local role of OPN in obese AT. Therefore, OPN could be a critical regulator in obesity induced AT inflammation and insulin resistance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koro Gotoh ◽  
Kansuke Fujiwara ◽  
Manabu Anai ◽  
Mitsuhiro Okamoto ◽  
Takayuki Masaki ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Tursi ◽  
Walter Elisei

Diverticulosis of the colon is the most common condition in Western societies and it is the most common anatomic alteration of the human colon. Recurrent abdominal pain is experienced by about 20% of patients with diverticulosis, but the pathophysiologic mechanisms of its occurrence are not completely understood. In the last years, several fine papers have showed clearly the role of low-grade inflammation both in the occurrence of symptoms in people having diverticulosis, both in symptom persistence following acute diverticulitis, even if the evidence available is not so strong. We do not know yet what the trigger of this low-grade inflammation occurrence is. However, some preliminary evidence found colonic dysbiosis linked to low-grade inflammation and therefore to symptom occurrence in those patients. The aim of this paper is to summarize current evidences about the role of inflammation in symptom occurrence in symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease and in symptom persistence after an episode of acute diverticulitis.


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