How age and infection history shape the antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell repertoire: Implications for vaccination strategies in older adults

Abstract

Older adults often show signs of impaired CD8+ T-cell immunity, reflected by weaker responses against new infections and vaccinations, and decreased protection against reinfection. This immune impairment is in part thought to be the consequence of a decrease in both T-cell numbers and repertoire diversity. If this is indeed the case, a strategy to prevent infectious diseases in older adults could be the induction of protective memory responses through vaccination at a younger age. However, this requires that the induced immune responses are maintained until old age. It is therefore important to obtain insights into the long-term maintenance of the antigen-specific T-cell repertoire. Here, we review the literature on the maintenance of antigen-experienced CD8+ T-cell repertoires against acute and chronic infections. We describe the complex interactions that play a role in shaping the memory T-cell repertoire, and the effects of age, infection history, and T-cell avidity. We discuss the implications of these findings for the development of new vaccination strategies to protect older adults.