Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Innate Lymphoid Cell Characterization And Ilc2s In Neuroinflammation In Aging And Sex Differences, Alexis Mobley, Alexis S. Mobley

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Aging affects immunologic responses by a global immune system suppression, including dysregulation of cytokine mediators, leading to increased inflammation throughout all systems, termed inflammaging. However, understanding healthy aging mechanisms can bypass this effect. Inflammaging also leads to poor outcomes during brain injury, making immune-targeting therapeutics tantamount to overall brain health and longevity. Moreover, sex affects disease etiology and severity through hormonal and chromosomal sex, as the X chromosome contains most immunology-based genes. Androgens have a generally suppressive effect on the immune system. Additionally, when immune responses are mounted, males are better at CD4+ T cell type (Th1) responses, while females …