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HERO ID
6797483
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Perceived stress, cytomegalovirus titers, and late-differentiated T and NK cells: Between-, within-person associations in a longitudinal study of older adults
Author(s)
Reed, RG; Presnell, SR; Al-Attar, A; Lutz, CT; Segerstrom, SC
Year
2019
Is Peer Reviewed?
Yes
Journal
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
ISSN:
0889-1591
EISSN:
1090-2139
Volume
80
Page Numbers
266-274
Language
English
PMID
30885843
DOI
10.1016/j.bbi.2019.03.018
Web of Science Id
WOS:000478105500027
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and psychological stress are implicated as drivers of immunological aging. It is unknown, however, whether associations among CMV titers, stress, and immune aging are more stable or dynamic over time. The present investigation tested the between-person (stable differences) and within-person (dynamic fluctuations) associations of CMV titers and perceived stress on late-differentiated T and natural killer (NK) peripheral blood cells in a longitudinal study of older adults aged 64-92 years (N = 149). Participants reported stress levels and provided blood biannually for 2.5 years (up to 5 waves per person) to assess CMV IgG titers and composites of late-differentiated CD8 T cells (CD28- and CD57 + subsets) and CD56dim NK cells (CD57+, NKG2C+, and FcεRIγ- subsets). In multilevel models that controlled for demographic variables, higher CMV titers were associated with higher proportions and counts of aged T and NK cells between people and lower counts of aged T cells within people. Perceived stress was associated with higher counts of aged T cells between people, but was not associated with aged NK cells. A significant interaction between stress and CMV titers on T cells between people indicated that older adults with lower stress levels and lower CMV titers had the lowest proportions of late-differentiated T cells, whereas those with higher stress levels had high proportions, regardless of CMV control. Our results provide evidence for longer-term, between-person associations among CMV titers, stress, and immunological aging, rather than dynamic within-person associations. We propose that targeting factors that promote low, stable perceived stress in older adults may retard T cell differentiation and ultimately support healthy aging.
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