Immunosenescence of T cells: a key player in rheumatoid arthritis.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its complications are expected to increase with age. Remarkably, RA patients were identified features of accelerated aging, particularly in immunosenescence. As is known, T cells in RA patients readily differentiate into pro-inflammatory phenotypes that maintain chronic and persistent inflammatory changes in joints and many other organ systems. Recent evidence suggests that T cells are most sensitive to aging, and aged CD4+ T cells contribute to inflammaging, which plays a crucial role in accelerating the disease process. In recent years, the molecular mechanisms of T cell immunosenescence were beginning to be understood. Immune aging in RA T cells is associated with thymus insufficiency, metabolic abnormalities, shortened telomere length, and chronic energy stress. Therefore, we summarized the role and mechanism of T cell immunosenescence in RA.

METHODS: A computer-based online search was performed using the PubMed database for published articles concerning T cells aging and rheumatoid arthritis.

RESULTS: In this review, we assess the roles of CD4+ T cells in the center of inflammaging especially in RA and emphasize arthritogenic effector functions of senescent T cell; also we discuss the possible molecular mechanisms of senescent T cells and therapeutic targets to intervene T cells immunosenescence for improvement of RA.