Aging affects the immune system. We know that. Aging affects pretty much everything. The trouble is that so do lots of other factors. How exactly do we figure out what aging is specifically? What should your immune system look like, and how does it change as you grow older? The 1000 Immunomes Project wants to know.
1000 immunomes… Just think about that for a minute. This is a study of 1000 people, each with their own unique biology. The youngest participant recruited was only nine. The oldest was 96. That’s a lot of data to investigate. No wonder it took an international team from multiple countries, even if the main base was at Stanford University.
This research is what’s known as a longitudinal study, which means it takes place over an extended period of time. The first participants joined in 2007 and recruitment was still ongoing in 2017. Every single subject donated blood samples for investigation, and the fanciest modern technology was used to analyze it.
Scientists looked at cells (both type and function), circulating proteins, haplotypes and whole-genome blood gene expression. They evaluated similarities and differences depending on genetics, environment and how the two interact. This meant they could figure out which biological markers were associated with a healthy immune system and which were linked to immune systems that were deteriorating.
Lots of academic papers have come out of the 1000 Immunome Project (https://med.stanford.edu/1000immunomes/Publications.html). They show how male and female immune systems can differ and the kind of changes that happen to your immune system when pregnant. They find defective signaling and inflammatory patterns of molecules. There are ways to predict the likely impact of different infections and whether vaccines will be effective. Twin studies, in particular, help highlight the influences of genetics.
Thanks to the work of the 1000 Immunomes Project, future studies into aging and the immune system will have even more data to draw from when planning their experiments. It lays a foundation that may be built upon or challenged but that will be able to be used as a basis for all sorts of future research.
Our understanding of the immune system is still limited, particularly when it comes to how it ages. For us to fully appreciate how it works and how to avoid or treat problems, we need more major studies to provide scientific backing.
