Abstract
Recently, we reported that murine antibody responses to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide (Pnu-Imune) vaccine declined with age. Here we present data to support the concept that age-associated immune defects are not only due to intrinsic defects in immune cells but are also due to extrinsic factors emanating from the neuroendocrine system. We found that supplementation with dehydroepiandrosterone, a steroid hormone known to be reduced in the aged, corrects the immune deficiency of aged mice and significantly enhanced their splenic immune responses to the Pnu-Imune vaccine.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1993
Funding Information
This work is supported in part by the NIH grants AI21490, AG05731, and KO4AG00422 and by a grant from the Tobacco and Health Research Institute at the University of Kentucky.
Repository Citation
Garg, Manju and Bondada, Subbarao, "Reversal of Age-Associated Decline in Immune Response to Pnu-Imune Vaccine by Supplementation with the Steroid Hormone Dehydroepiandrosterone" (1993). Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications. 116.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/microbio_facpub/116
Included in
Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Medical Immunology Commons, Medical Microbiology Commons, Molecular Genetics Commons
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Infection and Immunity, v. 61, no. 5, p. 2238-2241.
Copyright © 1993, American Society for Microbiology
The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.