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Review

How Immunosenescence and Inflammaging May Contribute to Hyperinflammatory Syndrome in COVID-19

by
Ludmila Müller
* and
Svetlana Di Benedetto
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(22), 12539; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212539
Submission received: 27 October 2021 / Revised: 17 November 2021 / Accepted: 19 November 2021 / Published: 21 November 2021

Abstract

Aging is characterized by the dynamic remodeling of the immune system designated “immunosenescence,” and is associated with altered hematopoiesis, thymic involution, and lifelong immune stimulation by multitudinous chronic stressors, including the cytomegalovirus (CMV). Such alterations may contribute to a lowered proportion of naïve T-cells and to reduced diversity of the T-cell repertoire. In the peripheral circulation, a shift occurs towards accumulations of T and B-cell populations with memory phenotypes, and to accumulation of putatively senescent and exhausted immune cells. The aging-related accumulations of functionally exhausted memory T lymphocytes, commonly secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines, together with mediators and factors of the innate immune system, are considered to contribute to the low-grade inflammation (inflammaging) often observed in elderly people. These senescent immune cells not only secrete inflammatory mediators, but are also able to negatively modulate their environments. In this review, we give a short summary of the ways that immunosenescence, inflammaging, and CMV infection may cause insufficient immune responses, contribute to the establishment of the hyperinflammatory syndrome and impact the severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in elderly people.
Keywords: aging; immunosenescence; inflammaging; cytokine storm; senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP); CMV; hyperinflammatory syndrome; COVID-19 aging; immunosenescence; inflammaging; cytokine storm; senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP); CMV; hyperinflammatory syndrome; COVID-19

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MDPI and ACS Style

Müller, L.; Di Benedetto, S. How Immunosenescence and Inflammaging May Contribute to Hyperinflammatory Syndrome in COVID-19. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 12539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212539

AMA Style

Müller L, Di Benedetto S. How Immunosenescence and Inflammaging May Contribute to Hyperinflammatory Syndrome in COVID-19. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(22):12539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212539

Chicago/Turabian Style

Müller, Ludmila, and Svetlana Di Benedetto. 2021. "How Immunosenescence and Inflammaging May Contribute to Hyperinflammatory Syndrome in COVID-19" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 22: 12539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212539

APA Style

Müller, L., & Di Benedetto, S. (2021). How Immunosenescence and Inflammaging May Contribute to Hyperinflammatory Syndrome in COVID-19. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(22), 12539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212539

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