Aging of the vertebrate immune system
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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Quantitative Imaging of Lineage-specific Toll-like Receptor-mediated Signaling in Monocytes and Dendritic Cells from Small Samples of Human Blood
Published on: April 16, 2012
Marta Torroba1, Agustín G Zapata
1Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
We have summarized current knowledge on the aging of the immune system in three vertebrate groups: fish, amphibians and birds. Available data are few due to difficulties in studying ageing in natural populations and in accurately determining age. In all vertebrates, the most obvious evidence of the senescence of lymphoid tissue is the involution of thymus, which courses with decreased numbers of thymocytes, and loss of the histological organization of gland. On the other hand, there is little information on aged secondary lymphoid organs. Possible influence of the endocrine system in the changes observed in aged lymphoid organs is also discussed.
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