Assessment of alloreactive T cell subpopulations of aged micein vivo. CD4+ but not CD8+ T cell-mediated rejection response declines with advanced age

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Abstract
The present investigation explored age‐related alterations in T cell populations mediating allospecific responses in vivo. Healthy aged and young H‐2b and H‐2bxH‐2k mice were engrafted with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II‐disparate bm12 skin, rejection of which requires CD4+ T cells, and MHC class I‐disparate bm1 skin, rejection of which requires CD8+ T cells. Aged mice of both genders exhibited prolonged survival of bm12 skin grafts relative to their young counterparts but rejected bm1 skin grafts at a rate equivalent to that of young mice. Consistent with prolonged survival of bm12 skin grafts, markedly diminished levels of Iabm12 CTL activity were elicited from T cells of aged mice in vitro. However, no such decline was observed in the level of Kbm1 CTL from T cells of aged mice. The alterations in Iabm12 allospecific responses were not attributable to quantitative changes in CD4+ T cells of aged mice, and addition of soluble T cell helper factors to response cultures of aged mice did not augment Iabm12 cytotoxic T lymphocytes activity. These data demonstrate that aging fundamentally affects CD4+ T cell‐mediated allospecific responses particularly in vivo, and that deficient generation of soluble T cell helper factors alone cannot explain this deficit.

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