Aging impairs IFN regulatory factor 7 up-regulation in plasmacytoid dendritic cells during TLR9 activation. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are innate sensors that produce IFN-alpha in response to viral infections. Determining how aging alters the cellular and molecular function of these cells may provide an explanation of increased susceptibility of older people to viral infections. Hence, we examined whether aging critically impairs pDC function during infection with HSV-2, a viral pathogen that activates TLR9. We found that impaired IFN-alpha production by aged murine pDCs led to impaired viral clearance with aging. Upon TLR9 activation, aged pDCs displayed defective up-regulation of IFN-regulatory factor 7, a key adaptor in the type I IFN pathway, as compared with younger counterparts. Aged pDCs had more oxidative stress, and reducing oxidative stress in aged pDCs partly recovered the age-induced IFN-alpha defect during TLR9 activation. In sum, aging impairs the type I IFN pathway in pDCs, and this alteration may contribute to the increased susceptibility of older people to certain viral infections.

publication date

  • November 15, 2008

Research

keywords

  • Aging
  • Dendritic Cells
  • Interferon Regulatory Factor-7
  • Toll-Like Receptor 9
  • Virus Diseases

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC2605669

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 58149177781

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.4049/jimmunol.181.10.6747

PubMed ID

  • 18981092

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 181

issue

  • 10