ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 1408

Metabolic Reprogramming in Memory CD4+ T Cells Is Associated with Immune Cell Dysfunction During Aging

Yuling Chen1, Yuanchun Ye2, Hao Wu3, Pierre-Louis Krauß1, Pelle Löwe1, Moritz Pfeiffenberger1, Lisa Ehlers1, Thomas Buttgereit4, Paula Hoff5, Frank Buttgereit6 and Timo Gaber1, 1Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Berlin, Germany, 2Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Tumor Immunology, Berlin, Germany, 3Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg, Institut für Systemimmunologie, Würzburg, Germany, 4Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Dermatology, Venerology, and Allergology, Berlin, Germany, 5Endokrinologikum Berlin, Rheumatologie, Berlin, Germany, 6Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2020

Keywords: , ,

Session Information

Date: Sunday, November 8, 2020

Title: T Cell Biology & Targets in Autoimmune & Inflammatory Disease Poster

Session Type: Poster Session C

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: Inflamm-aging is a chronic, sterile, low-grade inflammatory status, characterized by an increase of proinflammatory cytokines which participate in the development of most age-related diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As cellular metabolism modulates T cell function, it can be assumed that metabolic changes accompany the differentiation of memory CD4+ T cells into senescent CD4+ T cell and contribute to memory CD4+ T cells dysfunction during aging. Therefore, we hypothesized that metabolic reprogramming in memory CD4+ T cells might represent an essential factor promoting immune cell dysfunction during aging, thereby fueling to the pathogenesis of age-related diseases including RA

Methods: To this end, we analyzed memory CD4+ T cells isolated from PBMCs of young donors (20-32 years) and old donors (52-67 years) by using MACSTM technology. Ex vivo memory CD4+ T cells were analyzed by SeahorseTM Technology to determine proton efflux rate (PER) as a measure of glycolysis (glycPER) and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) as a measure of mitochondrial respiration (mitoOCR). Cytokine expression and secretion was measured by flow cytometry and multiplex assay. Finally, TCR-stimulated memory CD4+ T cell proliferation was determined using CSFE and Ki-67 after 3 days and 4 days by flow cytometry.

Results: In a quiescent state, memory CD4+ T cells from elderly individuals demonstrated a decrease in basal glycolysis and compensatory glycolysis, and an increase in the ratio of basal mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (mitoOCR) to glycolytic proton efflux rate (glycoPER) while their mitochondrial profile was equivalent to that of young donors. In comparison to the younger reference group, memory CD4+ T cells from aged donors presented a greater spare respiratory capacity after TCR-activation. Interestingly, we did not observe an impact of aging on memory CD4+ T cell proliferation as determined by CFSE and Ki-67. Although the capacity of intracellular cytokine expression did not differ between the compared groups, the levels of secreted IFN-γ, IP-10, IL-6, IL-9, and MCAF were significantly higher in the supernatants of memory CD4+ T cells taken from aged donors.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that metabolic reprogramming in human memory CD4+ T cells during aging results in an increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines. This process may culminate in T cell dysfunction and thus contribute to the pathogenesis of inflamm-aging and the development of age-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Disclosure: Y. Chen, None; Y. Ye, None; H. Wu, None; P. Krauß, None; P. Löwe, None; M. Pfeiffenberger, None; L. Ehlers, None; T. Buttgereit, None; P. Hoff, None; F. Buttgereit, AbbVie, 8, Eli Lilly, 8, Pfizer, 8, Roche, 8; T. Gaber, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Chen Y, Ye Y, Wu H, Krauß P, Löwe P, Pfeiffenberger M, Ehlers L, Buttgereit T, Hoff P, Buttgereit F, Gaber T. Metabolic Reprogramming in Memory CD4+ T Cells Is Associated with Immune Cell Dysfunction During Aging [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020; 72 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/metabolic-reprogramming-in-memory-cd4-t-cells-is-associated-with-immune-cell-dysfunction-during-aging/. Accessed .

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