TITLE:
Increased vitamin D is associated with decline of naïve, but accumulation of effector, CD8 T cells during early aging
AUTHORS:
Yong Gil Hwang, Hui-Chen Hsu, Fei Chu Lim, Qi Wu, PingAr Yang, Gordon Fisher, Gary R. Hunter, John D. Mountz
KEYWORDS:
Naïve CD8; Immunosenescence; Vitamin D; Human
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.2 No.2,
May
15,
2013
ABSTRACT: Given the protective roles of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D or vitamin D) in musculoskeletal health and the potential beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation in reducing the risk of various chronic diseases, intensive repletion of vitamin D has been widely advocated. Of note, CD8 T cells have the highest levels of the vitamin D receptor compared with other major immune cells. The effects of vitamin D on CD8 T cells during aging, however, remain unclear. This study determined the relationship between vitamin D levels and CD8 T cell status in 34 healthy female subjects (all >60 years old). The CD8 T-cell phenotype was defined by the surface expression of CD28 and CD95. The low-25(OH)D serum groups (≤30 ng/ml) had higher percentages of CD28+CD95–CD8+ (na?ve) T cells and lower percentages of CD28+CD95+CD8+ (effector) T cells. By contrast, subjects with high levels of 25(OH)D had very low percentages of na?ve CD8 T cells but very high percentages of effector CD8 T cells. There was a significant inverse correlation between 25(OH)D levels and the frequency of na?ve CD8 T cells. The results show that higher levels of vitamin D are correlated with decreased frequencies of na?ve CD8 T cells during early aging, suggesting that higher levels of 25(OH)D accelerate CD8 T cell senescence. These results warrant further evaluation of the effects of vitamin D supplementation in immune aging.