A Comprehensive Analysis of Cytokine Network in Centenarians
Cytokines have been investigated extensively in elderly people, with conflicting results. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the plasma levels of 62 cytokines and growth factors involved in the regulation of the immune system, in healthy centenarians, and middle-aged controls. We confirmed the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2719 |
| Summary: | Cytokines have been investigated extensively in elderly people, with conflicting results. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the plasma levels of 62 cytokines and growth factors involved in the regulation of the immune system, in healthy centenarians, and middle-aged controls. We confirmed the previously observed increase in the levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α and IL-6, and found that several other cytokines, directly or indirectly involved in inflammation (such as IFN-α, IL-23, CCL-5), were present at higher levels in centenarians. We did not observe any increase in the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines, with the notable exception of the Th2-shifting cytokine IL-19. No relevant difference was observed in cytokines regulating T cell immunity. Several growth factors having a role in regulating immunity, such as G-CSF, GM-CSF, EGF, and VEGF, were upregulated in centenarians, too. Principal component analysis of the cytokine dataset showed that pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines were the variables that contributed the most to the variability of the data we observed. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |