Rab8a restores diverse innate functions in CD11c⁺CD11b⁺ dendritic cells from aged mice

Age-related alterations of the immune system compromise the host's ability to respond to pathogens, but how immune aging is regulated is still poorly understood. Here, we identify via transcriptomic analysis of splenic DCs and bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDC) of young and aged mice, the small GTPase Rab8a as a regulator of dendritic cell (DC) functions in mice. CD11c⁺CD11b⁺ DCs of aged in comparison to young host exhibit a diminished type I IFN response upon viral stimulation and inefficiently present exogenous antigens to CD8⁺ T cells in vitro and in vivo. Rab8a overexpression, which is accompanied by the upregulation of Rab11, restores the functionality of these aged DCs, whereas knockdown of Rab8a reduces functionality of DCs from young mice. Mechanistically, Rab8a and Rab11 cooperate to induce efficient trafficking of peptide loaded class I MHC molecules from the ER to the cell surface. We propose that targeting Rab8a might serve as a strategy to restore DC functionality in the context of immune aging.