Vitamin E supplementation reverses the age-associated decrease in effective immune synapse formation in CD4+ T cells

Aging is associated with impairment of T cell function. We demonstrate here that age-associated declines in T cell signaling are due to the inability to form effective immune synapses at the site of the T cell receptor and antigen interaction. On the basis of our previous research with vitamin E (VE), we hypothesized that VE supplementation of old CD4(+) T cells enhances effective immune synapse formation through increased translocation of signaling proteins. Using confocal microscopy, we found that when exposed to antigen-presenting cells, CD4(+) T cells from old mice have a lower percentage of effective immune synapses compared to those from young mice. Furthermore, we show that in vitro and in vivo VE supplementation increases the percentage of old CD4(+) T cells capable of forming a functional immune synapse. Further studies are under way to determine the mechanisms of age and VE-induced enhancement of effective immune synapse formation.