Boosting Aging Immune Cells — The National Institute on Aging has awarded Dr. Laura Santambrogio a grant of $1.6 million over 5 years to support her research into declining immunity that occurs as people age. As a result, elderly people become more susceptible to infections and cancer and respond poorly to vaccination. It’s known that immune-system cells lose their ability to self-renew or to function properly over time—a phenomenon known as immunosenescence. While the underlying cause of immunosenescence is unknown, the Santambrogio team has discovered a pattern of chemical alterations in the proteins of immunoscenescent cells that may be responsible for the immune dysfunction. They will test this hypothesis using immune cells from mice and human donors, and will explore whether reversing the chemical changes could restore immune function in aged individuals—representing a novel therapeutic approach for boosting the body’s defenses against disease. Dr. Santambrogio is professor of pathology, of microbiology & immunology and of orthopaedic surgery.
Posted on: Monday, July 07, 2014