Characteristic Changes in the Immune Landscape of Aging Liver: From Basic Mechanism to Clinical Transformation
Tong Zhu1, Aijing Xu1, Wei Yin1
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China, smmu.edu.cn.
Journal of Immunology Research
|June 4, 2026
Summary
Aging significantly impacts liver health by altering the immune microenvironment, increasing susceptibility to liver diseases and reducing treatment effectiveness in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Immunology
- Gerontology
Background:
- The global population is aging, leading to an increased prevalence of age-related liver diseases.
- Liver aging mechanisms are not fully understood, but immune senescence is a key factor.
- Aging alters the liver's immune landscape, affecting both innate and adaptive immunity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of immune senescence in the aging liver.
- To understand how age-related immune changes impact liver disease susceptibility and progression.
- To identify therapeutic targets within the aging hepatic immune microenvironment.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on liver aging and immunosenescence.
- Analysis of age-related changes in hepatic immune cell function.
- Examination of the impact of immunosenescence on various liver conditions.
Main Results:
- Aging leads to profound remodeling of the liver's immune microenvironment.
- Immunosenescence compromises immune surveillance, increasing susceptibility to infections, metabolic liver diseases, drug-induced liver injury (DILI), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
- Age-related immune alterations negatively affect treatment efficacy for liver diseases.
Conclusions:
- Aging-driven changes in the hepatic immune microenvironment elevate liver disease risk in the elderly.
- Targeting age-related immune alterations presents a promising therapeutic strategy for improving liver health in older populations.
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