Nutrition and the Immune Response in Aging

The overall goal of Nutritional Immunology Laboratory (NIL) is to determine the relationship between nutrition and immune function and the prevention of immune-related diseases in the elderly. The research objectives of NIL are based upon the central hypothesis that nutritional status, and thereby nutritional interventions, have a strong regulating effect on the immune system of the elderly through regulation of oxidative stress- sensitive signal transduction and gene expression. Aging is associated with dysregulation of the immune response, which contributes to increased incidence of infectious, inflammatory, and neoplastic diseases. Changes in both T cells and macrophages contribute to this age-associated immune response dysregulation. The NIL investigates the role of dietary components and their interactions with other environmental factors in age-associated changes of the immune and inflammatory responses. Research looks to reverse and/or delay the onset of these immunologic and age-related changes by appropriate dietary modifications and to determine the molecular mechanisms by which antioxidant and prooxidant nutrients modulate immune cell functions. Methods are being developed to use the immune response as a biologically meaningful index in determining specific dietary requirements. The experimental approaches utilized by the laboratory extend from molecular and cellular mechanisms of nutrient-induced immune enhancement to the clinical and public health implications of these findings in developed and developing countries.