Intrinsic and microenvironmental defects are involved in the age-related changes of Lin - c-kit+ hematopoietic progenitor cells

Primary and secondary defects of the thymus

The thymus is the primary site of T-cell development, enabling generation, and selection of a diverse repertoire of T cells that recognize non-self, whilst remaining tolerant to self- antigens. Severe congenital disorders of thymic development (athymia) can be fatal if left untreated due to infections, and thymic tissue implantation is the only cure. While newborn screening for severe combined immune deficiency has allowed improved detection at birth of congenital athymia, thymic disorders acquired later in life are still underrecognized and assessing the quality of thymic function in such conditions remains a challenge. The thymus is sensitive to injury elicited from a variety of endogenous and exogenous factors, and its self-renewal capacity decreases with age. Secondary and age-related forms of thymic dysfunction may lead to an increased risk of infections, malignancy, and autoimmunity. Promising results have been obtained in preclinical models and clinical trials upon administration of soluble factors promoting thymic regeneration, but to date no therapy is approved for clinical use. In this review we provide a background on thymus development, function, and age-related involution. We discuss disease mechanisms, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches for primary and secondary thymic defects.

T cell regeneration after immunological injury

Following periods of haematopoietic cell stress, such as after chemotherapy, radiotherapy, infection and transplantation, patient outcomes are linked to the degree of immune reconstitution, specifically of T cells. Delayed or defective recovery of the T cell pool has significant clinical consequences, including prolonged immunosuppression, poor vaccine responses and increased risks of infections and malignancies. Thus, strategies that restore thymic function and enhance T cell reconstitution can provide considerable benefit to individuals whose immune system has been decimated in various settings. In this Review, we focus on the causes and consequences of impaired adaptive immunity and discuss therapeutic strategies that can recover immune function, with a particular emphasis on approaches that can promote a diverse repertoire of T cells through de novo T cell formation.

Endothelial transplantation rejuvenates aged hematopoietic stem cell function

Age-related changes in the hematopoietic compartment are primarily attributed to cell-intrinsic alterations in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs); however, the contribution of the aged microenvironment has not been adequately evaluated. Understanding the role of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment in supporting HSC function may prove to be beneficial in treating age-related functional hematopoietic decline. Here, we determined that aging of endothelial cells (ECs), a critical component of the BM microenvironment, was sufficient to drive hematopoietic aging phenotypes in young HSCs. We used an ex vivo hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell/EC (HSPC/EC) coculture system as well as in vivo EC infusions following myelosuppressive injury in mice to demonstrate that aged ECs impair the repopulating activity of young HSCs and impart a myeloid bias. Conversely, young ECs restored the repopulating capacity of aged HSCs but were unable to reverse the intrinsic myeloid bias. Infusion of young, HSC-supportive BM ECs enhanced hematopoietic recovery following myelosuppressive injury and restored endogenous HSC function in aged mice. Coinfusion of young ECs augmented aged HSC engraftment and enhanced overall survival in lethally irradiated mice by mitigating damage to the BM vascular microenvironment. These data lay the groundwork for the exploration of EC therapies that can serve as adjuvant modalities to enhance HSC engraftment and accelerate hematopoietic recovery in the elderly population following myelosuppressive regimens.

Booster immunizations with DNA plasmids encoding HER-2/neu prevent spontaneous mammary cancer in HER-2/neu transgenic mice over life span

Cancer vaccines are less effective at old than at young age because of immunosenescence. Besides, in preliminary observations we showed that the immunization with HER-2/neu DNA plasmid in transgenic young mice (standard immunization, SI) delays but not abrogate spontaneous mammary tumours progressively appearing during aging. In this study we evaluated whether booster immunizations (BI) of HER-2/neu transgenic mice with HER-2/neu DNA plasmids every 6 (ECD6), 3 (ECD3), or 1.5 (ECD1.5) months after SI induce a protective immunity that could be maintained over life span. The long term BI significantly improved the effect of SI increasing the number of tumour free mice at 110 weeks of age from 13% (SI) to 58% (BI). Both the number and the volume of tumour masses were reduced in BI than in SI groups. The protective effect of BI was associated with increased antibody production with isotype switching to IgG2a, augmented CD4 T cells, and increased in vivo cytotoxicity of HER-2/neu specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, mainly in ECD1.5 and ECD3 groups. The transfer of sera from ECD1.5 mice to untreated HER-2/neu mice highly protected against tumour development than sera from SI mice. We conclude that BI induce a protective immunity effective over life span.

Effect of hyperglycemia on the number of CD117+ progenitor cells and their differentiation toward endothelial progenitor cells in young and old ages

Dysfunction of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) has been reported either in aging or diabetes, though the influence of an "old" environment on numerical and functional changes of diabetes associated EPCs is not known. We evaluated the effect of both aging and early stage of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the number of bone marrow-derived CD117⁺ progenitor cells, and on their differentiation in vitro toward EPCs. The phenotype of progenitor cells and the uptake of acetylated-low density lipoprotein (Ac-LDL) were evaluated after cell culture in VEGF, FGF-1, and IGF-1 supplemented medium. Hyperglycemia similarly reduced the number of CD117⁺ cells both in young and old mice. CD117⁺ cells from young mice differentiated better than those from old animals "in vitro", with a greater reduction of CD117⁺ cells and an higher increase of CD184⁺VEGFR-2⁺ cells. In diabetic mice, in vitro CD117⁺ cells differentiation was significantly reduced in young animals. Diabetes did not impact on the scarce differentiation of CD117⁺ cells from old mice. Hyperglycemia reduced the uptake of acLDL by EPCs greatly in young than in old mice. These findings indicate that part of the EPCs functional alterations induced by hyperglicemia in young mice are observed in normal aged mice.

Effect of aged bone marrow microenvironment on mesenchymal stem cell migration

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to have many notable features, especially their multiple differentiation ability and immunoregulatory capacity. MSCs are important stem cells in the bone marrow (BM), and their characteristics are affected by the BM microenvironment. However, effects of the BM microenvironment on the properties of MSCs are not well understood. In this study, we found that BM from aged mice decreased MSC colony formation. Flow cytometry data showed that the proportion of B220(+) cells in BM from aged mice was significantly lower than that in BM from young mice, while the proportion of CD11b(+), CD3(+), Gr-1(+), or F4/80(+) cells are on the contrary. CD11b(+), B220(+), and Ter119(+) cells from aged mice were not the subsets that decreased MSC colony formation. We further demonstrated that both BM from aged mice and young mice exhibited similar effects on the proliferation of murine MSC cell line C3H10T1/2. However, when cocultured with BM from aged mice, C3H10T1/2 showed slower migration ability. In addition, we found that phosphorylation of JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinases) in C3H10T1/2 cocultured with BM from aged mice was lower than that in C3H10T1/2 cocultured with BM from young mice. Collectively, our data revealed that BM from aged mice could decrease the migration of MSCs from their niche through regulating the JNK pathway.

Toward quantifying the thymic dysfunctional state in mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is characterized by a number of immunological alterations, not the least in the T-cell compartment. Numerous animal models of colitis have revealed aberrant thymocyte dynamics associated with skewed thymocyte development. The recent advancements in quantitative methods have proposed critical kinetic alterations in the thymocyte development during the progression of colitis. This review focuses on the aberrant thymocyte dynamics in Gαi2-deficient mice as this mouse model provides most quantitative data of the thymocyte development associated with colitis. Herein, we discuss several dynamic changes during the progression of colitis and propose a hypothesis for the underlying causes for the skewed proportions of the thymocyte populations seen in the Gαi2-deficient mice and in other mouse models of colitis.

Migration of fibrocytes in fibrogenic liver injury

CD45(+) and collagen I-positive (Col(+)) fibrocytes are implicated in fibrogenesis in skin, lungs, and kidneys. Fibrocyte migration in response to liver injury was investigated using bone marrow (BM) from chimeric mice expressing luciferase (Col-Luc→wt) or green fluorescent protein (Col-GFP→wt) under control of the α1(I) collagen promoter and enhancer, respectively. Monitored by luciferase expression, recruitment of fibrocytes was detected in CCl(4)-damaged liver and in spleen. Migration of CD45(+)Col(+) fibrocytes was regulated by chemokine receptors CCR2 and CCR1, as demonstrated, respectively, by 50% and 25% inhibition of fibrocyte migration in Col-Luc(CCR2-/-)→wt and Col-Luc(CCR1-/-)→wt mice. In addition to CCR2 and CCR1, egress of BM CD45(+)Col(+) cells was regulated by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and liposaccharide in vitro and in vivo, which suggests that release of TGF-β1 and increased intestinal permeability have important roles in fibrocyte trafficking. In the injured liver, fibrocytes gave rise to (myo)fibroblasts. In addition, a BM population of CD45(+)Col(+) cells capable of differentiation into fibrocytes in culture was identified. Egress of CD45(+)Col(+) cells from BM was detected in the absence of injury or stress in aged mice but not in young mice. Development of liver fibrosis was also increased in aged mice and correlated with high numbers of liver fibrocytes. In conclusion, in response to liver injury, fibrocytes migrate from BM to the liver. Their migration is regulated by CCR2 and CCR1 but is compromised with age.

Inflammation, aging, and cancer vaccines

Immunosenescence is characterized by a series of changes of immune pathways, including a chronic state of low-grade inflammation. Mounting evidence from experimental and clinical studies suggests that persistent inflammation increases the risk of cancer and the progression of the disease. Cancer vaccination, which came into view in the last years as the most intriguing means of activating an immune response capable of effectively hampering the progression of the preclinical stages of a tumour, has been shown to be less effective in older age than in young adults. Available evidence on the use of inhibitors of inflammation has indicated their potential enhancement of cancer vaccines, suggesting the possibility to improve the low effectiveness of cancer vaccines in old age employing pharmacological or natural compounds-based anti-inflammatory intervention. This review addresses the effects of age and inflammation on cancer development and progression, and speculates as to whether the modulation of inflammation may influence the response to cancer immunization.

Immunosenescence and cancer vaccines

Experimental and clinical data demonstrate that ageing is associated with the gradual deterioration of the immune system, generally referred to as immunosenescence. Age-related immune dysfunction may have an impact not only on the incidence of cancer, but also on the preventive and therapeutic approaches, which are based on immune system activation. Over the last few years the use of immunological measures to prevent cancer in experimental mouse models involving preimmunization with new vaccines against even a poor or apparently non-immunogenic tumour has yielded worse outcomes in older age than in young adults. Different mechanisms, which may be due to age-related numerical or functional dysfunction of immune cells and/or to tumour microenvironmental changes, could be responsible for this defect. This review summarises the impact of immunosenescence on the effectiveness of cancer vaccines, knowledge of cancer immunisation in old age and the potential mechanisms implicated in the poorer effectiveness of anticancer immune-based approaches in advanced age. Several approaches to, and possibilities of correcting the low effectiveness of immunisation procedures in old age are described.

Effects of aging on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells

Although relationships between cellular and organismal aging are not well understood, several studies describe age-related changes in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with functional consequences for the hematopoietic system. Importantly, aged hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) differ from their younger counterparts in functional capacity, the complement of proteins on the cell surface, transcriptional activity, and genome integrity. These changes, however, are likely the result of a combination of cell-intrinsic and microenvironment-derived influences. Evolving views of the composition of the HSC compartment suggest that changes in HSCs may reflect the effects of the aging process on individual HSCs or a shift in the clonal composition of the HSC pool with age.

Is thymocyte development functional in the aged?

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.