DNA damage and mutation: contributors to the age-related alterations in T cell-mediated immune responses?
Mech Ageing Dev
; 102(2-3): 165-75, 1998 May 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9720649
ABSTRACT
The genetic material of our cells is susceptible to damage by a wide variety of extrinsic and intrinsic entities. The amount of genetic damage accumulated in vivo will depend upon an individual's ability to defend against and/or repair DNA damage. T cells in vivo have been shown to accumulate DNA damage and mutations over time. The accumulation of such genetic damage will occur in T cells possessing a 'naive' or a 'memory' phenotype. Since T cells are required to undergo extensive clonal expansion upon antigenic stimulation, DNA damage and mutations may result in a failure of T cells to proliferate, because of DNA damage-mediated cell cycle arrest; decreased rates of proliferation, as a consequence of selection in vivo against cells carrying certain mutations and/or apoptosis, triggered by critical levels of DNA damage. Thus, when T cells, containing critical levels of genetic damage, are required to undergo rapid clonal expansion in the presence of antigen, insufficient numbers of T cells may be produced and so the immune response would be sub-optimal. In this paper the possible contribution of DNA damage and/or mutation to the age-related alterations in T cell-mediated immune responses will be discussed.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Dano ao DNA
/
Envelhecimento
/
Linfócitos T
/
Mutação
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
1998
Tipo de documento:
Article