"A twice-weekly cocktail of three messenger RNAs can rejuvenate the weary immune systems of aged mice and boost responses to vaccination and cancer treatments, a study has found. The treatment provides a needed boost to immune cells called T cells, which coordinate immune responses and kill infected cells. As people age, their ability to produce T cells wanes, and the ones they have become less effective."
"T cells are produced in the bone marrow and then travel to a tiny gland called the thymus to mature. In the thymus, they learn to recognize and respond to pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. They also learn not to attack the body's own healthy cells. But the thymus degrades with age: it begins to shrink and is gradually replaced by fatty tissue."
A twice-weekly cocktail of three messenger RNAs rejuvenates immune systems in aged mice and enhances responses to vaccination and cancer treatments. The treatment boosts T cells, which coordinate immune responses and kill infected cells, countering age-related declines in T-cell production and function. T-cell ageing reduces vaccine effectiveness in older adults and diminishes the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies, and weakened T-cell immunity contributes to chronic inflammation linked to age-related diseases including some forms of cardiovascular disease. The thymus, where T cells mature, shrinks and becomes replaced by fatty tissue with age. Instead of targeting the thymus directly, the approach focuses on rejuvenating peripheral T cells.
Read at Nature
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