Study reveals how long-term infection and inflammation impairs immune response as we age

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Study reveals how long-term infection and inflammation impairs immune response as we age

Humans are born with tens of thousands of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that collectively ensure lifelong production of blood and immune cells that protect us from infections. HSCs can either duplicate to produce more stem cell progeny or differentiate to produce distinct immune cell lineages, an extremely critical decision that ensures that the body achieves the fine balance between having enough immune cells to fight invaders while still retaining enough HSCs to maintain future blood production. As we age, HSCs accumulate mutations that lead to the emergence of genetically distinct subpopulations. This common phenomenon known as clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is known to start in early fifties and is frequently associated with loss of function mutations in the DNMT3A gene. CH is associated with a significantly higher risk of blood cancers, cardiovascular disease, stroke and all-cause mortality.

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