Good news!
"... researchers have found that a ratio between two immune cell types can reveal whether someone stays healthy or may face a higher risk of future disease.
They found that having more granzyme K-producing white blood cells tipped the scale toward healthy aging, while having more granzyme B-producing cells was associated with chronic disease and even death. ...
a map of human immune aging that helps decode these different trajectories.
The findings, published in Immunity, show that a ratio between two immune cell types can reveal whether someone stays healthy or may face a risk of future disease. ..."
From the highlights and abstract:
"Highlights
• 8 PBMC datasets, 2,609 individuals, 12 M cells, and harmonized annotation of 59 cell types
• Thymic involution defines biological age in PBMCs, marked by RTE and CD8+ TN loss
• CD8+ Tem GZMK+/GZMB+ ratio stratifies human health trajectories
• Tem GZMB+ plasma protein signature links to inflammation and is predictive of mortality
Summary
Human immune aging is heterogeneous, with immune responses becoming increasingly variable over the lifespan.
Here, we integrated seven large-scale public single-cell peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) datasets and a newly generated cohort, encompassing 2,609 ostensibly healthy individuals across diverse ages, ancestries, and biological sexes.
We identified both conserved and cohort-associated age-associated remodeling across 59 immune populations, together with sex- and ancestry-dependent immune differences.
CD8+ T cells emerged as major drivers of aging heterogeneity, with the GZMK+/GZMB+ effector memory ratio distinguishing healthy and pathology-associated aging trajectories.
This ratio reflected immune remodeling driven by chronic viral exposure, including CMV, and disease-associated immune dysregulation, with the dominant driver varying across populations.
Proteomic profiling across four cohorts revealed a Tem GZMB+ plasma signature associated with inflammaging, poor self-reported health, all-cause mortality, and increased risk of immune-related, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. Together, these findings define clinically relevant immune determinants for monitoring and guiding healthy aging interventions."
Immune cell map uncovers how individual aging trajectories diverge
Graphical abstract
Figure 1 Overview of study design and cohort characteristics
