Old mice have reduced CD4+ T cell function but, according to new data from Haynes and colleagues (page 845), the elderly environment is not to blame. Newly generated T cells functioned normally in elderly mice, suggesting that strategies to boost T cell production might be an effective way to improve vaccine efficacy in the elderly.

CD4+ T cells accumulate functional defects as they age. (T cell image provided by Michael Dustin, New York University, NY, NY.)

Previous work by this group has shown that age-related defects in antibody production result from declining CD4+ T cell help, not from faulty B cells. By depleting the existing pool of CD4+ T cells and forcing the thymus to churn out a fresh supply, the authors show that newly generated CD4+ T cells are equally responsive to antigen whether they are produced...

The Rockefeller University Press
2005
The Rockefeller University Press
2005
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