Slowing down a 'helper' cell may someday make vaccines more effective for seniors.

[2greys]

Many people have understood that our immune systems get weaker as we age, which in part explains why older people often get less protection than younger ones from annual influenza vaccines.

Now a team of scientists led by experts at Cincinnati Children's have taken a deeper look at how the immune system changes with age--and what they've found could make often-mediocre flu vaccines much more protective.

Their study, published online July 29, 2020, in the journal Science Advances, reports that rather than being weaker, the immune system in the elderly is actively suppressed and that this suppression is reversible. Their data show that triggering a strong response to vaccination in the elderly depends on relieving this suppression, which is driven by a key group of cells within our immune system. The co-authors call them "Tfh 10" cells, which stands for Interleukin 10-producing T follicular helper cells.

sciencecodex.com/slowing-do...

Science Advances link to the research paper:

advances.sciencemag.org/con...

[Cateran]

I am tempted to suggest that there is something called immunosenescence, much as your post suggests here. However, I have been told that there is no such thing. Quite a conundrum, if the article you reference, is to be believed. Thanks anyway, 2G for posting this thread, and I expect that the naysayers will respond correcting me.

[Oshgosh]

That’s interesting for me,given that my immune system was intent on destroying me bit by bit ( lupus /RA /NSIP.

I’m hoping that the immunosuppressants won’t stop the flu vaccine working.

Everything crossed.

The sun is shining here,perhaps we’ll have a reasonable day.

Take care.

[Maverick2 in reply to Oshgosh]

If you ask why old people have a high risk of infection, the answer is immunosuppression at old age. Even RA also has a high risk of infection.

If you ask why old people have high chronic diseases, the answer is the overactive immune system. Not just RA, LuPUS but also COPD, asthma, diabetes all have inflammation as the cause of the disease.

To overcome the conundrum, now coined a term called the deranged immune system.

[Oldasthmaticfart]

Interesting, but surely increasing the response of the immune system of the elderly will increase disease severity such as arthritis. It could make a lot of people suffer more.

[Maverick2]

IL-10 is a signal to say that I can no longer see the enemy and downregulating the immune response and avoid IL-6 mediated killing in COVID-19. In the recovery phase, the IL-10 increases. By suppressing IL-10, you can keep the immune system active (you will be having a fever always) to instantaneously respond to the vaccine(virus) but that will itself kill you by keeping IL-6 elevated.

Bluntly, if you are always on infection you will fight new infection very well.

Unfortunately, due to publication pressure and reaching a larger audience, making tall claim is now part of doing science.

[Cateran in reply to Maverick2]

So. the "solution" to the conundrum about immunosenescence is now called "making tall claims", not dogma? Or should that be "deranged immune system"? Or, "immunosuppression at old age"?