The influence of age on the canine immune system

Immune function was assessed in a group of 47 Labrador Retrievers, ranging in age from 0.8 to 11.5 years, in order to establish baseline data on canine immunosenescence. Natural killer cell activity, lymphocyte subset distributions, antibody production, and mitogen-induced lymphoproliferative responses, all of which have been demonstrated to undergo age-related changes in humans and mice, were chosen as indicators of immune function. Dogs were categorized by age as young (mean 2.4 years), middle-aged (mean 5.8 years), and old (mean 9.1 years). Natural killer cell activity was not affected significantly by age. Lymphocyte subset analysis revealed a significant age-related increase in the percentage of cells staining with a pan T-cell reagent, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the percentage of CD8 cells from youth to middle age. An age-related decrease in the percentage of B-cells was observed concomitant with the increases in T-cell percentages. A gender-related difference in pan T-cell distribution was also observed, with females having a higher percentage than males. Lymphoproliferative responses of both young and middle-aged dogs to the mitogens concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, and staphylococcal enterotoxin B were significantly higher than those of old dogs. In general, the mitogen responses of male dogs were affected more dramatically by age than those of females. A significant age-related decline in in vivo antibody responses to the protein antigen, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, was not observed, although the mean titers of the young dogs were higher than those of the old.