This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Grolleau-Julius, A. Articles by Yung, R. L. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Grolleau-Julius, A. Articles by Yung, R. L.

Impaired Dendritic Cell Function in Aging Leads to Defective Antitumor Immunity

¹ Divisions of Geriatric Medicine and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan and ² Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers, Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Requests for reprints: Annabelle Grolleau-Julius or Raymond L. Yung, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Room 3023 BSRB, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Phone: 734-647-9745; Fax: 734-936-9220; E-mail: grolleau{at}umich.edu or ryung{at}umich.edu.

Key Words: Aging • Dendritic Cells • Migration • Antigen Presentation • Cancer

We recently reported that bone marrow–derived dendritic cells (DC) from aged miced are less effective than their young counterparts in inducing the regression of B16-ovalbumin (OVA) melanomas. To examine the underlying mechanisms, we investigated the effect of aging on DC tumor antigen presentation and migration. Although aging does not affect the ability of DCs to present OVA peptide_(257–264), DCs from aged mice are less efficient than those from young mice in stimulating OVA-specific T cells in vitro. Phenotypic analysis revealed a selective decrease in DC-specific/intracellular adhesion molecule type-3–grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) level in aged DCs. Adoptive transfer experiments showed defective in vivo DC trafficking in aging. This correlates with impaired in vitro migration and defective CCR7 signaling in response to CCL21 in aged DCs. Interestingly, vaccination of young mice using old OVA peptide_(257–264)–pulsed DCs (OVA PP-DC) resulted in impaired activation of OVA-specific CD8⁺ T cells in vivo. Effector functions of these T cells, as determined by IFN- production and cytotoxic activity, were similar to those obtained from mice vaccinated with young OVA PP-DCs. A decreased influx of intratumor CD8⁺ T cells was also observed. Importantly, although defective in vivo migration could be restored by increasing the number of old DCs injected, the aging defect in DC tumor surveillance and OVA-specific CD8⁺ T-cell induction remained. Taken together, our findings suggest that defective T-cell stimulation contributes to the observed impaired DC tumor immunotherapeutic response in aging. [Cancer Res 2008;68(15):6341–9]