Abstract
E55+ murine leukemia retrovirus (E55+ MuLV) infection of young and aged C57BL/6 (B6) mice was used to investigate the relationship between increased incidences of infection and decreased immune responsiveness of elderly individuals. Young mice decreased E55+MuLV burden to below detectable levels by 8 weeks postinfection (p.i.). In contrast, virus burden in aged mice did not reach undetectable levels until 20 weeks p.i. A significant T cell proliferative response to E55+ MuLV was detected from 2 to 12 weeks p.i. in young mice, but was never observed in aged mice. Both age groups demonstrated significant E55+MuLV-specific T-cell-mediated cytotoxic responses at 3 and 4 weeks p.i. and virus neutralizing antibody titers at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks p.i. In both cases, responses were consistently higher in young mice (P < 0.04 and P < 0.02, respectively). These results demonstrate that the observed delay in E55+MuLV clearance by aged mice is associated with an age-related decrease in the immune response to the virus.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 281-289 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Virology |
Volume | 290 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 25 2001 |
Keywords
- Aging
- CD4 T cell
- CD8 T cell
- Neutralizing antibody
- Retrovirus
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Virology