Old T cells cripple immune function in the elderly

[Guest guest]

Couldn't just be that the vax doesn't work...period?

Love, light and peace,

Sue

" It is not unfair to conclude that medicine is the only branch of science

that has based its structure on opinions and suppositions rather than on

laws and principles. " - Vithoulkas, " The Science of Homoeopathy " .

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http://www.eurekalert.org/bysubject/medicine.php

Old T cells cripple immune function in the elderly

T cells are the weakest link in the immune systems of older people, based on

a report by Eaton and colleagues in the December 20 issue of The Journal of

Experimental Medicine. The authors show that old CD4 " helper " T cells cannot

provide the stimulatory signals to B cells that prompt them to make

antibodies. Old and young B cells, however, are equally effective if helped

by young CD4 T cells. The authors think this may help explain why

immunizations are less effective in the elderly.

B cell activation and antibody production are known to be impaired with age

in both mice and humans, but it was not clear whether this defect is

intrinsic to B cells or is a by-product of declining CD4 T cell helper

functions.

Eaton and colleagues transferred young or old CD4 T cells into mice lacking

their own CD4 T cells to determine which cells are responsible for the

age-related decline in B cell function. They show that B cell activation and

antibody production can be restored in old mice if they are infused with

young CD4 T cells prior to immunization. On the flip side, young mice

infused with old CD4 T cells developed antibody defects, even though their B

cells were young. In other words, old B cells function like young ones if

provided with signals from young helper T cells. While the mechanism is not

completely clear, the authors show that old T cells can travel to the right

location in the spleen of the mice, but have fewer of the surface proteins

that send stimulatory signals to B cells.