How lymphocytes age
Immune cells age well
Kirill Stasevich, "Science and Life"
It is difficult to expect anything good from aging - in the sense of biology; however, the staff of the University of Saarland write in Aging Cell (Zöphel et al., Faster cytotoxicity with age: Increased perforin and granzyme levels in cytotoxic CD8+ T cells boost cancer cell elimination) that aging benefits some immune cells.
The researchers studied cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, or T-killers – their task is to destroy other cells infected with viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, in addition, T-killers destroy malignant cells. To do this, they have a whole arsenal, for example, perforin proteins and granzymes. Perforins form pores in the outer membrane of a diseased cell, through which granzymes penetrate into it – special enzymes that trigger a self-destruction program in the cell, or apoptosis.
In addition, some of the cytotoxic T-lymphocytes that are faced with danger are able to turn into memory T-cells. They live for a long time, and their task is to quickly start the destruction of diseased cells (infected or malignant), if such appear again. Memory T cells must remember well what they once dealt with, that is, they must quickly recognize pathogenic molecules on diseased cells and accurately distinguish diseased cells from normal ones.
Comparing how T-killers behave from old and young mice with tumor cells, the researchers suddenly found that old T-killers produce more perforins and granzymes and, in general, destroy diseased cells more efficiently. Moreover, the old memory T-lymphocytes remember the past goal better, which means that when faced with the old danger again, they will help to get rid of it faster.
Until now, it was believed that T-killers, like any other cells, begin to work worse with age; but, apparently, everything is not so unambiguous here. On the other hand, no one will argue that the probability of oncological diseases only increases with age. Do not forget that immunity is a lot of different cells that interact with each other and with other cells.
Let cytotoxic T cells work better and better over time – if there are few memory T cells around them, their improved abilities will do little. And if there are fewer memory T-cells with age, then the immune system as a whole will work worse. Nevertheless, if T cells age well not only in mice, but also in humans, it can certainly be used in antitumor therapy.
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