Basic biology and clinical impact of immunosenescence

Immunosenescence is an age-associated decline of immunity involving multiorgan changes. As the mean age of the population increases, an increase of diverse pathologies associated with immunosenescence has been observed in the developed countries. Age-related changes in the immune system contribute to the increased incidence and severity of infectious diseases and possibly cancer in the elderly. Moreover, in young individuals chronic activation of the immune system (as occurs in autoimmune diseases, cancer, HIV infection and other chronic infections) induces changes in the immune response that parallel those observed in elderly individuals. An interdisciplinary approach to immunosenescence including investigation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms and clinical aspects is being utilised by the EU program "Immunology and Ageing in Europe" (ImAginE, QLK6-CT-1999-02031), the second major international conference of which took place in Córdoba, Spain, 22-26th March, 2001). We briefly summarise some of the highlights of the meeting here, and bring together in this special issue a collection of peer-reviewed papers reflecting the broad approach to immunosenescence currently being applied.