Health & Medicine, UK (Commonwealth Union) – The impact of various factors on immunity has long been a focus in immunology. The impact of gender and age on immunity has long been understood by scientists and has often been attributed to hormone levels among others.
The 1st study to indicate aging as a factor in gender differences between immune cell movement across the body was recently revealed.
The new research indicated that older female mice had an increased number of immune cells in places where they should not be. This was a demonstration that sex differences play a role in age-associated inflammation which is required to be taken into account in future studies.
In a study appearing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology in June this year, a study team led by Dr Myriam Chimen of the University of Birmingham discovered that age was a key factor in the elevation of the number of immune cells going into the sack holding key organs (peritoneal cavity) in female mice when contrasted with young mice or older male mice.
The results back prior research indicate that the immune systems in females are lowered at a more rapid rate with age when contrasted to males. This was significant, as the 1st example of the way age-related inflammation known as inflammageing varies between sexes in healthy models.
“This is a unique study that has found for the first time a clear sex-related difference in how age affects the immune cell movement. Our study in mice shows that age is a factor that needs to be considered alongside biological sex when researching inflammation, and that future research needs to look at these differences when considering new treatments that center around reducing inflammageing,” explained Dr. Asif Iqbal, who is as Associate Professor in Inflammation Biology from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham.
The results further backed evidence that certain inflammation-related illnesses, like rheumatoid arthritis, have a greater chance of impacting women as indicated by researchers.
Researchers noted that aging females revealed notable changes in the immune system and blood vessels. The research team observed an increase in specific immune cells, such as B-cells responsible for antibody production, exiting blood vessels and entering the peritoneal cavity. Additionally, they noted a rise in pro-inflammatory agents like cytokines and chemokines within the cavity. Furthermore, the team discovered that the blood vessels surrounding the cavity exhibited reduced integrity in older female mice, resulting in the leakage of fluorescent dyes and fluids into the cavity.
These findings suggest a correlation between the heightened inflammation within the cavity and the compromised integrity of blood vessels in aging females. This observation presents a potential avenue for future treatments, as targeting the increased levels of age-related inflammation in the cavity could help address the issue of leaky vessels. By focusing on mitigating age-related inflammation, researchers aim to develop therapies that could potentially restore the integrity of blood vessels and alleviate associated health concerns in aging individuals.
Dr Helen McGettrick, who is a Reader in Inflammation and Vascular Biology at the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham says “Although our paper doesn’t identify the exact cause of sex-related differences in immune system deterioration, it is likely that differences in hormones between sexes and changes in these during menopause in females play a role.”
The scientists involved in the research had on prior occasions published work revealing the prophylactic administration of a peptide known as PEPITEM capable of bringing down the low-level inflammatory response resulting from obesity, by modulating immune cell trafficking all over the body. The University of Birmingham Enterprise has applied for a patent application consisting of PEPITEM compositions and therapeutic applications.
