Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-2-1
pubmed:abstractText
Elderly subjects are at increased risk of pneumonia, influenza, and tuberculosis. Besides the known age-related decrease in mechanisms for mechanical clearance of the lungs, impaired alveolar macrophage function contributes to the increased risk of illness in the elderly. We have previously shown that age-induced macrophage immunodeficiencies are associated with a defective system for anchoring protein kinase C. Castration of young male rats produces effects on alveolar macrophages similar to those of aging, suggesting a relationship between circulating sex hormones, particularly androgens, and the decreases in the receptor for activated C kinase (RACK-1) and macrophage function observed. The aging process in humans and rats is associated with a decline in the plasma concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate, among other steroid hormones. We report here that in vitro and in vivo administration of DHEA to rats restores the age-decreased level of RACK-1 and the LPS-stimulated production of TNF-alpha in alveolar macrophages. DHEA in vivo also restores age-decreased spleen mitogenic responses and the level of RACK-1 expression. These findings suggest that the age-related loss in immunological responses, linked to defective pathways of signal transduction, are partially under hormonal control and can be restored by appropriate replacement therapy.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0022-1767
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
168
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1753-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Aging, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Blotting, Western, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Cells, Cultured, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Dehydroepiandrosterone, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Lipopolysaccharides, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Lymphocyte Activation, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Macrophages, Alveolar, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Male, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Orchiectomy, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Protein Kinase C, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Rats, Sprague-Dawley, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Receptors, Cell Surface, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Signal Transduction, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Spleen, pubmed-meshheading:11823507-Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
pubmed:year
2002
pubmed:articleTitle
In vivo dehydroepiandrosterone restores age-associated defects in the protein kinase C signal transduction pathway and related functional responses.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. emanuela.corsini@unimi.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article