Are senescence and exhaustion intertwined or unrelated processes that compromise immunity?

✍ Scribed by Akbar, Arne N.; Henson, Sian M.

• Book ID: 109956487
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 544 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1474-1741
• DOI: 10.1038/nri2959

✦ Synopsis

Can the immune system be reactivated continuously throughout the lifetime of an organism or is there a finite point at which repeated antigenic challenge leads to the loss of lymphocyte function or the cells themselves or both? Replicative senescence and exhaustion are processes that control T cell proliferative activity and function; however, there is considerable confusion over the relationship between these two intrinsic cellular control mechanisms. In this Opinion article, we compare the molecular regulation of senescence and exhaustion in T cells. Available data suggest that both processes are regulated independently of each other and that it may be safer to block exhaustion than senescence to enhance immunity.