Aging and antigenic stimulation and Costimulation
This bar-graph shows a comparison of the ability of young and old FDCs to stimulate Ab production. FDCs for this study were isolated from the draining lymph nodes of mice. Both young and old FDCs were cocultured with memory lymphocytes in 96-well culture plates in the presence of OVA-anti-OVA immune complexes (IC). Cultures were washed on day 7 to remove any soluble IC, and anti-OVA IgG was measured on day 14 using an ELISA. Controls included memory B and T lymphocytes alone, FDC alone, memory B and T lymphocytes or FDC plus OVA-anti-OVA IC, and FDCs plus memory B and T cells. At each of the 3 FDC doses, the young FDCs promoted a greater Ab production than old FDCs (p < 0.02). These data are typical of 3 experiments of this type. Scroll down to see the effect of age on costimulation.
This bar-graph shows the comparison of co-stimulatory activity in young and old FDCs. LPS induced IgG responses in cocultures of young B cells (naive, non-LPS specific) and FDCs where FDCs provided the costimulatory signals. LPS-induced IgG that accumulated in supernatants from day 7 to day 14 was measured using ELISA. At each of 3 FDC doses, the young FDCs promoted a stronger Ab response than old FDCs (p < 0.01). These results are typical of five experiments . Thus it may be concluded that aging not only affects the capacity of FDCs for antigenic stimulation but it also affects the FDC's ability to costimulate B cells.