Plasmacytoid dendritic cell and myeloid dendritic cell function in ageing: A comparison between elderly and young adult women

Marloes van Splunter; Olaf Perdijk; Henriëtte Fick-Brinkhof; Esther G Floris-Vollenbroek; Ben Meijer; Sylvia Brugman; Huub F J Savelkoul; Els van Hoffen; R J Joost van Neerven

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225825

Plasmacytoid dendritic cell and myeloid dendritic cell function in ageing: A comparison between elderly and young adult women

PLoS One. 2019 Dec 12;14(12):e0225825. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225825. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Marloes van Splunter¹, Olaf Perdijk¹, Henriëtte Fick-Brinkhof², Esther G Floris-Vollenbroek³, Ben Meijer¹, Sylvia Brugman¹, Huub F J Savelkoul¹, Els van Hoffen³, R J Joost van Neerven^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Cell Biology and Immunology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
² Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
³ NIZO Food research, Ede, The Netherlands.
⁴ FrieslandCampina, Amersfoort, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Ageing is associated with a changing immune system, leading to inflammageing (increased levels of inflammation markers in serum) and immunosenescence (reduced immune cells and reduced responses towards pathogens). This results in reduced vaccination responses and increased infections in elderly. Much is known about the adaptive immune system upon ageing, but less is known about the innate immune system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare innate immune function of Toll like receptor (TLR)-mediated responses between elderly and young adult women. To this end, elderly and young adult women were compared to study the effect of ageing on the relative prevalence and reactivity to TLR-mediated responses of myeloid- and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (mDC, pDC). In addition, TLR expression and inflammatory markers in serum were investigated. Elderly women had reduced numbers of circulating pDCs. In addition, pDCs and mDCs of elderly women responded differently towards TLR stimulation, especially TLR7/8 mediated stimulation was reduced, compared to young adults. In serum, markers involved in inflammation were generally increased in elderly. In conclusion, this study confirms and extends the knowledge about immunosenescence and inflammageing on innate immunity in elderly women.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / metabolism*
Cytokines / blood
Dendritic Cells / metabolism*
Female
Humans
Inflammation Mediators / blood
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / blood
Intracellular Space / metabolism
Myeloid Cells / metabolism*
Toll-Like Receptors / metabolism
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / blood
Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / blood
Young Adult

Substances

Cytokines
Inflammation Mediators
Toll-Like Receptors
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1

Grants and funding

Part of this study was financed by FrieslandCampina. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors [JvN], but did not have any additional role in the design of this study, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The funder funded the clinical study published elsewhere (Bovine Lactoferrin Enhances TLR7-Mediated Responses in Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Elderly Women: Results From a Nutritional Intervention Study With Bovine Lactoferrin, GOS and Vitamin D. van Splunter M, Perdijk O, Fick-Brinkhof H, Feitsma AL, Floris-Vollenbroek EG, Meijer B, Brugman S, Savelkoul HFJ, van Hoffen E, van Neerven RJJ. Front Immunol. 2018 Nov 20;9:2677. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02677. eCollection 2018). The additional work in the current publication does not include any links to dairy ingredients, and was designed and performed independently from funder, through the university affiliation of JvN. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.