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What Do We Know About Immune System Aging from Human and Animal Studies?
Marta Cąkała-Jakimowicz1, Anna Domaszewska-Szostek1, Monika Puzianowska-Kuźnicka1,2
1Department of Human Epigenetics, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|July 15, 2026
Summary
Immune system aging causes organ changes and cell dysfunction, increasing susceptibility to infections and diseases. Understanding these changes is key to developing interventions against immune aging.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Gerontology
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Aging involves complex immune system changes, including genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, and cellular senescence.
- These changes lead to inflammaging, altered defense, and autoantibody overproduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize age-related alterations in primary and secondary lymphoid organs.
- To describe aging-related impairment of immune cell activity and lymphocyte responses.
Main Methods:
- Review of age-related changes in bone marrow, thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes.
- Analysis of functional impairments in neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, NK cells, T cells, and B cells.
Main Results:
- Age-related involution of lymphoid organs impairs hematopoiesis and disrupts the immune microenvironment.
- Reduced naïve lymphocytes and increased memory/exhausted cells, alongside diminished antigen receptor diversity.
- Impaired immune cell activity and dysregulated T and B cell responses observed in aging.
Conclusions:
- Aging significantly impacts immune system structure and function, leading to increased vulnerability.
- Age-related immune decline results in heightened susceptibility to infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
- Understanding immune aging mechanisms is crucial for developing therapeutic and lifestyle interventions.
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