Relation of CMV and brain atrophy to trajectories of immunosenescence in diverse populations

Touil, H., Luquez, T., Comandante-Lou, N., Lee, A. J., Fujita, M., Habeck, C., Kroshilina, A., Hegewisch-Solloa, E., McInvale, J., Zuroff, L., Isnard, S., Walker, E., Zhang, L., Routy, J.-P., Zhang, Y., Mace, E. M., Klotz, L., Wiendl, H., Xia, Z., Bar-Or, A., Menon, V., Stern, Y., De Jager, P. L.

Columbia University · biorxiv

Paper

Abstract

Immunosenescence (ISC), the aging of the immune system, has largely been studied in populations of European descent. Here, circulating immune cell cytometric data from African-American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White participants were generated. Known and novel age effects were identified using either a meta-analysis approach or a parallel genetic approach. Most results are consistent across the three populations, but some cell populations display evidence of heterogeneity, such as a PD-L1+CD56+ NK cell subset. The study estimated "Immunological Age" (IA) during physiologic aging. While we found no relation of IA to Multiple Sclerosis, IA is associated with entorhinal cortex atrophy, a presymptomatic feature of Alzheimers disease, linking neurodegeneration and peripheral immunity. ISC trajectories were also inferred, highlighting age, CMV status, and genetic ancestry as key influences. Our assessment offers reference ISC trajectories for personalization of assessments of immune function over the life course in diverse populations.

The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.

Research summary

The paper investigates the relationship between immunosenescence and brain atrophy, linking peripheral immunity to neurodegeneration, which is relevant to understanding aging processes. However, while it provides insights into immune function and its variations across diverse populations, the findings are more descriptive and do not propose novel interventions or solutions to the root causes of aging. Thus, it represents solid research but with limited impact on the broader field of longevity.

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