November 13, 2019
RIKEN
Keio University School of Medicine
A joint research group, including Research Scientist Kosuke Hashimoto and Team Leader Piero Carninci from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Laboratory for Transcriptome Technology, and Nobuyoshi Hirose, a Guest Professor (Part-time) at the Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine at the time of the research, has discovered that supercentenarians (individuals aged 110 or older) have a high number of a special type of T cell, "CD4-positive killer T cells," in their blood.
By understanding the relationship between immunity, aging, and longevity through these research findings, it is hoped that this will help prevent immune aging and contribute to the extension of healthy life expectancy.
In this study, the joint research group collected blood samples directly from seven supercentenarians who have reached the age of 110 and five individuals aged 50 to 80, and analyzed the immune cells circulating in their blood at the single-cell level. The results showed that in supercentenarians, the composition of T cells, which act as the command center of the immune system, was significantly different compared to the 50–80 age group. In particular, CD4-positive killer T cells, which are normally present in only small amounts, were found at a high rate. Furthermore, an examination of their T-cell receptors revealed that clonal expansion, an increase in T cells with specific types of receptors, had occurred.
This research was published in the online edition of the American scientific journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)" on November 12 (November 13, Japan Standard Time).
Please see below for the full press release.