ISSN:
1573-7306
Keywords:
renal interstitium
;
autoimmunity
;
aging
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Spontaneously occurring, organ-specific autoimmune lesions develop in aged C57BL/6 mice of both sexes, especially in 24-month-old senescent mice. Inflammatory lesions of autoimmune nature associated with advance of age were found in many organs such as renal interstitium, salivary gland, pancreatic islet, lung and liver. The incidence and severity of spontaneously occurring organ-specific autoimmune lesions in this strain of non-autoimmune mice increase with age. In humans, autopsy material of elderly people, examined histopathologically and immunopathologically, showed infiltrating lymphocytes in several organs such as the salivary glands, thyroid, adrenal corteces. Recently, we found spontaneously occurring inflammatory lesions in the renal interstitium, probably indicating an autoimmune phenomenon. Extensively infiltrating foci in the renal interstitium were frequently found in persons over 70 years of age. The infiltrating mononuclear cells were predominently CD4+ cells, whereas CD22+ B cells were fewer in number. Moreover, a considerable proportion of T cells was activated as judged by IL-2 receptor expression. Based on these findings, we propose that the development of interstitial renal lesions in the elderly is an autoimmune phenomenon involving the cellular immune system, and may be related to an age-related disturbance in regulatory T-cell function.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00636327
Permalink
