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Chapter category: Immunology

Immunogenetics of Aging

Chapter authors:
Elissaveta J. Naumova and Milena I. Ivanova

Deterioration of the immune system with aging is associated with an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, cancer and autoimmune disorders. It has been demonstrated that immunosenescence is associated with chronic, low‑grade inflammatory activity. The aging process is very complex and longevity is a multifactorial trait, which is determined by genetic and environmental factors and the interaction of “disease” processes with “intrinsic” ageing processes. It is hypothesized that the level of immune response as well as possibly longevity could be associated with genes regulating immune functions. It is further hypothesized that the diversity of these genes might influence successful aging and longevity by modulating an individual´s response to life‑threatening disorders. Several studies have focused on the role of genes encoding molecules with immune functions. In this chapter we will review the data on the role of HLA and cytokine gene polymorphisms in human longevity and comment on the future directions in this field. Aging is a complex process and longevity is a biological phenomenon which shows a large inter‑species as well as inter‑individual variability that could be determined by the interaction of many factors: genetic background, environment, lifestyle and nutrition. The somatic theory explains aging in terms of accumulation of mutations in the genome of somatic cells leading to cell senescence, cell death or transformation, as well as loss of function. A variety of models in different species demonstrate that mutations in different genes are able to induce a consistent and marked increase of the lifespan. Most of these genetic variations which significantly impact upon longevity address a limited number of pathways highly conserved in evolution. Assuming that Homo sapiens is not an exception to this order, many studies over the last few years have been focused on these evolutionarily conserved pathways in order understand the genetics of human aging and longevity. Furthermore, genetic heritability of human lifespan was confirmed by investigations in different populations showing heritability estimates between 0.10 and 0.33 and therefore that genes account for about 25% of longevity determination.

Elissaveta J. Naumova
Central Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Alexandrovska

Milena I. Ivanova
Central Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Alexandrovska

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