Immunosenescence of T cells: a key player in rheumatoid arthritis

The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its complications are expected to increase with age. Remarkably, RA patients were identified features of accelerated aging, particularly in immunosenescence. As is known, T cells in RA patients readily differentiate into pro-inflammatory phenotypes that maintain chronic and persistent inflammatory changes in joints and many other organ systems. Recent evidence suggests that T cells are most sensitive to aging, and aged CD4+ T cells contribute to inflammaging, which plays a crucial role in accelerating the disease process. In recent years, the molecular mechanisms of T cell immunosenescence were beginning to be understood. Immune aging in RA T cells is associated with thymus insufficiency, metabolic abnormalities, shortened telomere length, and chronic energy stress. Therefore, we summarized the role and mechanism of T cell immunosenescence in RA.

A computer-based online search was performed using the PubMed database for published articles concerning T cells aging and rheumatoid arthritis.

In this review, we assess the roles of CD4+ T cells in the center of inflammaging especially in RA and emphasize arthritogenic effector functions of senescent T cell; also we discuss the possible molecular mechanisms of senescent T cells and therapeutic targets to intervene T cells immunosenescence for improvement of RA.