Cited by 122T-cell and B-cell ImmunologyImmunotherapy and Immune ResponsesImmune responses and vaccinations

Low thymic activity and dendritic cell numbers are associated with the immune response to primary viral infection in elderly humans

Schulz, Axel Ronald, Mälzer, Julia Nora, Domingo, Cristina, Jürchott, Karsten, Grützkau, Andreas, Babel, Nina, Nienen, Mikalai, Jelinek, Tomas +2 more·2015·The Journal of Immunology

Abstract

Immunological competence declines progressively with age, resulting in increased susceptibility of the elderly to infection and impaired responses to vaccines. Underlying mechanisms remain largely obscure as they have been related to complex, individual systemic immune properties that are challenging to investigate. In this study, we explored age-related changes in human immunity during a primary virus infection experimentally induced by immunization with live-attenuated yellow fever (YF) vaccine. Applying detailed serology, advanced FACS analysis, and systems biology, we discovered that aged subjects developed fewer neutralizing Abs, mounted diminished YF-specific CD8+ T cell responses, and showed quantitatively and qualitatively altered YF-specific CD4+ T cell immunity. Among numerous immune signatures, low in vivo numbers of naive CD4+ recent thymic emigrants and peripheral dendritic cells correlated well with reduced acute responsiveness and altered long-term persistence of human cellular immunity to YF vaccination. Hence, we reveal in this article that essential elements of immune responses such as recent thymic emigrants and dendritic cells strongly relate to productive immunity in the elderly, providing a conceivable explanation for diminished responsiveness to vaccination with neoantigens and infection with de novo pathogens in the aged population.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.4049/jimmunol.1500598

Cites

77 of 77 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Reduced primary CD8+ T cell responses are seen in older individuals after live attenuated yellow fever vaccination, manifested as delayed viral clearance and decreased frequencies of activated CD8+ T cells at peak responses.

    “Reduced primary CD8+ T cell responses are also seen in older individuals after vaccination with the live attenuated yellow fever vaccine, which manifested as delayed viral clearance and decreased frequencies of activated CD8+ T cells at peak responses”

    From Successful and Maladaptive T Cell Aging (2017) · cites this paper as Schulz et al., 2015

  • DCs together with naïve T cells represent the most restrictive elements for the immune response to primary viral infections in older people.

    “Accordingly, DCs together with naïve T cells represent the most restrictive elements for the immune response to primary viral infections in older people (33).”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 78 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Schulz, A. R., Mälzer, J. N., Domingo, C., Jürchott, K., Grützkau, A., Babel, N., Nienen, M., Jelinek, T., Niedrig, M., & Thiel, A.
Affiliations
  • German Rheumatism Research Centre (DE)
  • Berlin-Brandenburger Centrum für Regenerative Therapien (DE)
  • Robert Koch Institute (DE)
  • Berlin Center for Travel and Tropical Medicine , 10117 Berlin ,
Corresponding author
Schulz, Axel Ronald
Venue
The Journal of Immunology
Published
2015-11
Volume
195
Issue
10
Pages
4699-4711
ISSN
  • 0022-1767 (ISSN-L)
  • 1550-6606
OpenAlex
W2210194898
Cited by
112
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 8 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
FWCI
5.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of Immunology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune responses and vaccinations
Keywords
immunosenescence, aging, yellow fever vaccine, primary viral infection, recent thymic emigrants, dendritic cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutralizing antibodies, vaccine response, cell-mediated immunity
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aging, Antibodies, Viral, Cell Count, Dendritic Cells, Female, Humans, Immunoglobulin G, Immunocompetence, Male, Middle Aged, Thymus Gland, Vaccination, Vaccines, Attenuated, Viremia, Yellow fever virus, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Lymphocyte Count, Yellow Fever Vaccine, Young Adult, Antibodies, Neutralizing

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review