- Lay Summary:
Aging is the strongest risk factor for cancer, infectious diseases, cardiovascular decline, and neurodegeneration. This increased vulnerability is largely driven by immunosenescence, the progressive deterioration of the immune system with age. Immunosenescence reshapes immune homeostasis, weakens immune surveillance, and contribute to inflammaging. Our previous research showed that a mouse model with premature T cell immunosenescence exhibit signs of accelerated aging and premature senescence in solid organs, highlighting the pivotal role of T cells in maintaining systemic homeostasis.
In this presentation, I will present the key hallmarks of T cell aging, including the hematopoietic shift toward myeloid over lymphoid production (myeloid skewing), thymic involution, imbalance between naïve and effector lymphocyte pools, acquisition of terminally differentiated phenotypes, and progressive functional decline. And we will decode the molecular mechanisms by which aged immune cells fuel chronic inflammation, senescence, and age-related diseases. Finally, we will discuss novel strategies to restore immune competence by integrating genetic, cellular, pharmacological, and nutritional approaches, with the ultimate goal of promoting healthy immune aging and delay inflammation and senescence.
- Biosketch:
Maria Mittelbrunn received the degree of Doctor in Biomedicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the School of Medicine at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in 2006, and performed postdoctoral work at Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) (Madrid, Spain) . Since 2017, she is Group Leader of the Immunometabolism& Inflammation Laboratory at the Molecular Biology Center (Madrid). Since 2021, she is Research Scientist of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC).
Among her original contributions as PI are the demonstration that the deterioration of immune system function with aging not only compromises the response to infection, cancer, vaccination, or predisposes to autoimmunity but also increases the risk for cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive decline, thereby placing the immune system as a controller of healthy aging. Dr. Mittelbrunn has contributed to decoding the molecular mechanisms by which aged T cells contribute to inflammaging and age-related diseases. Her work has helped identify potential therapeutic targets to delay age-related multimorbidity, extend lifespan in mitochondrial disorders, and reverse aortic aneurysms.
Since 2024, she is Visiting Professor at Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, Columbia University.