Immunogenetics of Aging’: report on the activities of theud15th International HLA and Immunogenetics Working Groupudand 15th International HLA and Immunogenetics Workshop

摘要

‘Immunogenetics of Aging’ is a component that was first included in the 14thudInternational HLA and Immunogenetics Workshop (IHIWS) and developed furtherudwithin the 15th Workshop. The aim of this component was to assess the impact ofudhuman leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, cytokine genes, and some innate immunityudgenes such as killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and mannose-bindingudlectin 2 (MBL2) in successful aging and their contribution to the better understandingudof immune dysfunction in old age. Within the 15th IHIWS new populations wereudincluded in the analysis. Additional cytokine gene polymorphisms were assessedudand innate immunity genes were analyzed for possible relevance in longevity. Theudresults showed that longevity might be associated with anti-inflammatory cytokineudgene profiles, decreased frequency of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growthudfactor-B1 haplotypes associated with a low level of gene expression, and increasedudfrequency of haplotypes determining a high level of expression. Extended tumorudnecrosis factor-A and IL-12B genotypes were also likely relevant to longevity. Dataudalso showed that innate immunity genes are associated with susceptibility to infectionsudin the elderly and showed that these genes might be an important genetic marker inudaging. Decreased frequencies of KIR2DS5 and A1B10 haplotypes, and an increasedudproportion of MBL2-deficient haplotypes were found in the group with higherudcytomegalovirus-specific IgG antibody levels. Together, these studies emphasize theudrelevance of genes regulating immune functions in maintaining human longevity andudstress the importance of further clarifying their impact on successful aging.