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How age and sex interaction is associated with immune aging with implications for vaccines and age-related autoimmunity.

npj aging

Authors: Reza Gheitasi, Mahnaz Rezaei, Parvaneh Nafisi Fard, Daniela Roel, Sabine Baumgart, Diana Dudziak, Norman Rose, Simon M Petzinna, Thomas Kamradt, Carsten Watzl, Mathias W Pletz, Valentin S Schäfer

Immunosenescence is not a uniform decline but a trajectory shaped jointly by age and sex. Using continuous high-dimensional immunophenotyping, we show that aging T cells accumulate a senescent signature of CD28 loss and CD57 gain, and that males reach an inverted CD4:CD8 ratio earlier and more severely than females. We argue that age-by-sex stratification should guide vaccination and geroprotective strategies in an aging population.

© 2026. The Author(s).

PMID: 42629350

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