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Review
. 2024 Aug 1;15(4):1588-1601.
doi: 10.14336/AD.2023.0923.

Immune Remodeling during Aging and the Clinical Significance of Immunonutrition in Healthy Aging

Lei Dou  1   2 , Yang Peng  1 , Bin Zhang  2 , Huiyuan Yang  2 , Kai Zheng  1
Affiliations
Review

Immune Remodeling during Aging and the Clinical Significance of Immunonutrition in Healthy Aging

Lei Dou et al. Aging Dis. .

Abstract

Aging is associated with changes in the immune system and the gut microbiota. Immunosenescence may lead to a low-grade, sterile chronic inflammation in a multifactorial and dynamic way, which plays a critical role in most age-related diseases. Age-related changes in the gut microbiota also shape the immune and inflammatory responses. Nutrition is a determinant of immune function and of the gut microbiota. Immunonutrion has been regarded as a new strategy for disease prevention and management, including many age-related diseases. However, the understanding of the cause-effect relationship is required to be more certain about the role of immunonutrition in supporting the immune homeostasis and its clinical relevance in elderly individuals. Herein, we review the remarkable quantitative and qualitative changes during aging that contribute to immunosenescence, inflammaging and microbial dysbiosis, and the effects on late-life health conditions. Furthermore, we discuss the clinical significance of immunonutrition in the treatment of age-related diseases by systematically reviewing its modulation of the immune system and the gut microbiota to clarify the effect of immunonutrition-based interventions on the healthy aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Quantitative and functional alterations in immune cell subpopulations during aging.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Various immunonutrients alleviate age-related diseases by counteracting the aging immune imbalance from the dual burden of immunosenescence and inflammaging.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Various immunonutrients alleviate many chronic diseases associated with gut microbial dysbiosis by affecting the gut-extraenteric tissue axis and related microbial metabolites. Abbreviations: AD, Alzheimer's disease; CAD, coronary artery disease; HF, heart failure; NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; PD, Parkinson’s disease; SCFAs, short-chain fatty acids; TMAO, trimethylamine-N-oxide.
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Grants and funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81600503) , Research Foundation of the Tongji Hospital for Overseas Returned Scholars (Grant No. 2020HGRY002), and Chen Xiao-ping Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology of Hubei Province (Grant No. CXPJJH122005-015). The research by the authors is developed at Tongji Hospital. We acknowledge the Tongji Hospital for its structural support.

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