Aging-associated dysregulation of homeostatic immune response termination (and not initiation)

Immunosenescence is a state of unbalanced immune responsiveness, characterized by a diverse repertoire of seemingly discreet and paradoxical alterations in all aspects of immunity arising in an aging-associated manner. We asked whether aging-associated alterations in the ability of apoptotic cells to elicit immunomodulatory responses (innate apoptotic immunity; IAI) or in IAI responses themselves might underlie the confounding aging-associated anomalies of immunosenescence. We explored this question by examining, as a function of animal age, responsiveness of murine macrophages on the single cell level. We monitored the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines cytofluorimetrically in response to pro-inflammatory Toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation and anti-inflammatory treatment with apoptotic cells. While we found no alterations with age in the potency of apoptotic cells or in the initiation and magnitude of IAI responses, we did identify a cell-intrinsic deficiency in anti-inflammatory IAI response termination linked with age and preceding manifestations of immunosenescence. Further, we found that an aging-associated deficiency in response termination also is evident following TLR stimulation. These surprising observations reveal that a loss of homeostatic immune control with animal age results from the dysregulation of response termination (as distinct from response initiation) and is exerted on the level of transcription. We suggest that, with advancing age, cells become locked into relatively longer-lived response states. Aging-associated immune dysfunctions may reflect a diminution in the cellular nimbleness of immune responsiveness.