Impact of aging on immune function in the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases: potential for therapeutic targets

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Several immunological alterations that occur during pulmonary diseases often mimic alterations observed in the aged lung. From the molecular perspective, pulmonary diseases and aging partake in familiar mechanisms associated with significant dysregulation of the immune systems. Here, we summarized the findings of how aging alters immunity to respiratory conditions to identify age-impacted pathways and mechanisms that contribute to the development of pulmonary diseases,

Areas covered

The current review examines the impact of age-related molecular alterations in the aged immune system during various lung diseases, such as COPD, IPF, Asthma, and alongside many others that could possibly improve on current therapeutic interventions. Moreover, our increased understanding of this phenomenon may play a primary role in shaping immunomodulatory strategies to boost outcomes in the elderly. Here, the authors present new insights into the context of lung-related diseases and describe the alterations in the functioning of immune cells during various pulmonary conditions altered with age.

Expert opinion

The expert opinion provided the concepts on how aging alters immunity during pulmonary conditions, and suggests the associated mechanisms during the development of lung diseases. As a result, it becomes important to comprehend the complex mechanism of aging in the immune lung system.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• Immunity
• COPD
• IPF
• Lymphocytes
• Cytokines
• Cellular senescence

Article highlights

• How aging alters the immunity during respiratory conditions to identify the age-impacted pathways and various mechanistic ways it can contribute to the development of pulmonary diseases

• Alterations in the pulmonary immune system with increasing age and its impact on inflammatory and cellular mediators

• The impact of age-associated molecular alterations in the aged immune system occurring during various lung-based diseases, such as COPD, IPF, and Asthma alongside various others, that could be targetable and could possibly provide a therapeutic aid

• Mechanism of the immune cells in IPF-aged lung

• An outline of the immune cells participating in immune aging, contributing to the progression of the chronic lung diseaseMechanism

• The immune mechanism in asthma due to lung aging

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Gagandeep Kaur for her valuable thoughts and discussions. Figures were generated using AAdobe Illustrator

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This is supported by the NIH grants: NIH grants: R01HL135613 (I.R.), R01HL133404 (I.R.), and R01ES029177 (I.R.), HL147715, and TriState SenNet U54AG075931-01