Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Engineering anticancer T cells for extended functional longevity.

Graham Pawelec1, Erminia Mariani, Julie McLeod

  • 1Center for Medical Research, ZMF, University of Tübingen Medical School, Waldhörnlestrasse 22, D-72072 Tuebingen, Germany. graham.pawelec@uni-tuebingen.de

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|July 13, 2004
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Immune aging biomarkers for clinical trials.

Nature medicine·2026
Same author

Mapping the missing: a scoping review identifying critically underrepresented LGBTQI+ youth within online sexual, reproductive, and transgender healthcare research.

Sexual and reproductive health matters·2026
Same author

Comparing fourteen consensus biomarkers of aging: epigenetic pace of aging as the strongest predictor of mortality in BASE-II.

Biomarker research·2026
Same author

Vδ1 T-cell subset appears to be responsive to PD-1 blockade therapy and is associated with survival in melanoma.

Journal for immunotherapy of cancer·2026
Same author

Recommendations for developing asynchronous online consultations for chlamydia treatment for underserved populations: a Behaviour Change Wheel analysis.

Sexually transmitted infections·2026
Same author

Aging-associated immune signature as a predictor of mortality in end-stage renal disease: results from the longitudinal iESRD study.

Immunity & ageing : I & A·2025
Same journal

Neural Oscillatory Dynamics in Joint Action: Dissociable Roles of Entrainment and Beta Modulation in Self-Other Integration.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Multiomics Profiling During Autoimmune Demyelination Highlights a Complex Regulatory Role for Ataxin-1 in B Cells.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Global Trends in Light Pollution and Their Relationship With Socioeconomic Factors.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Wired for Corruption: Inter-Brain Synchrony Encodes Bribery-Related Value Information and Predicts Bribery Agreement.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

LM-YOLO: A Lightweight Multi-Scale Enhanced Model for Forest Smoke Detection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Polyrhythm Perception and Production: A Scoping Review.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
See all related articles

Human T cell clones show reduced function with age due to DNA damage and instability. Even in healthy elderly donors, strategies beyond telomere maintenance are needed for T cell longevity extension.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Human T lymphocytes have limited replicative capacity, and their dysfunction can harm immunity during chronic stress.
  • Accumulated T cell dysfunction is linked to aging, chronic infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms of T cell aging and explore strategies for extending T cell functional longevity.
  • To compare T cell behavior in young donors versus exceptionally healthy elderly donors.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling T cell clonal expansion in vitro using cells from young and elderly donors.
  • Assessing DNA damage, microsatellite instability (MSI), DNA repair capacity, telomerase activity, telomere length, CD28 expression, and IL-2 secretion.
  • Culturing cells in reduced oxygen (5% O2) to evaluate its impact on DNA damage and longevity.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Younger T cells showed increased oxidative DNA damage, MSI, and reduced DNA repair, telomerase, telomere length, CD28, and IL-2 with age.
  • T cell clones from healthy elderly donors maintained better DNA repair and lower MSI, but still exhibited oxidative DNA damage and similar clonal longevity.
  • Reduced oxygen lowered DNA damage but did not improve T cell longevity, suggesting a need for free radical-dependent pathways for reactivation.

Conclusions:

  • Telomere maintenance, free radical protection, and improved DNA repair alone are insufficient for extending human T cell functional longevity.
  • Alternative strategies, such as manipulating heat shock proteins, proteasome components, or negative regulatory receptors, are needed for T cell longevity, especially for cancer immunotherapy.