The Innate Immune System and Aging: What is the Contribution to Immunosenescence ?

ABSTRACT

The immune system plays an important role in the defence against various threats to health, such as pathogens, cancer cells or modified-self proteins. With aging there is a decrease in the immune response, called immunosenescence, concomitantly with the increase in some age-related diseases such as infections, autoimmune disorders, chronic inflamma-tory diseases and cancer. The immune response is traditionally divided between innate and adaptive immune responses. Accumulating evidence suggests that immunosenescence is not only restricted to the adaptive but also affects the innate immune system. Assessment of innate immune system functions revealed that it is also susceptible to age-related dysregulation. Furthermore, it is becoming clear that the sustained function of innate cells is indispensable for the ade-quate functioning of the adaptive immune response. This review will describe the changes in the innate immune response with aging and the recent discoveries, which may shed new light on its contribution to immunosenescence.

Keywords: