%0 journal article
%@ 1932-6203
%A Stervbo, U., Pohlmann, D., Baron, U., Bozzetti, C., Juerchott, K., Maelzer, J.N., Nienen, M., Olek, S., roch, T., Schulz, A.R., Warth, S., Neumann, A., Thiel, A., Gruetzkau, A., Babel, N.

%D 2017
%J PLoS One
%N 7
%P e0181161 
%R doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181161
%T Age dependent differences in the kinetics of GammaDelta T cells after influenza vaccination
%U https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181161
7 
%X Immunosenescence is a hallmark of the aging immune system and is considered the main cause of a reduced vaccine efficacy in the elderly. Although γδ T cells can become activated by recombinant influenza hemagglutinin, their age-related immunocompetence during a virus-induced immune response has so far not been investigated. In this study we evaluate the kinetics of γδ T cells after vaccination with the trivalent 2011/2012 northern hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccine. We applied multi-parametric flow cytometry to a cohort of 21 young (19–30 years) and 23 elderly (53–67 years) healthy individuals. Activated and proliferating γδ T cells, as identified by CD38 and Ki67 expression, were quantified on the days 0, 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, and 21. We observed a significantly lower number of activated and proliferating γδ T cells at baseline and following vaccination in elderly as compared to young individuals. The kinetics changes of activated γδ T cells were much stronger in the young, while corresponding changes in the elderly occurred slower. In addition, we observed an association between day 21 HAI titers of influenza A and the frequencies of Ki67+ γδ T cells at day 7 in the young. In conclusion, aging induces alterations of the γδ T cell response that might have negative implications for vaccination efficacy.