Immunosenescence and inflammatory markers in Cuban centenarians: implications for survival.

ABSTRACT

Centenarians are the best example of successful aging in humans. This work aimed to understand if immune status is associated with survival in Cuban centenarians. In a previous study, our group enrolled 43 centenarians and evaluated their immune status and functional capacity. 41 out of 43 recruited centenarians received follow-up phone calls, during a period of 2 years. Absolute CD4 + T cell count was higher among survivors, while the frequency of CD8 + CCR7-CD45RA + , CD8 + CD45RA + CD28-, and CD4 + CD28- T cells was higher among non-survivors. We also found that higher frequencies of terminally differentiated T cells were related to a higher risk of death, while centenarians with higher frequencies of T cells were more likely to survive. Surprisingly, neither serum inflammatory markers nor frailty/dependency was associated with survival. Our preliminary study suggests that immuno-senescence markers, but not inflammaging or functional capacity, are associated with survival beyond 100 years in a small group of Cuban centenarians.