Our work on N-glycosylation and T cell aging has been published in Nature Aging. In this paper we present a new explanation (altered N-glycan branching on T cells) for why the immune system weakens with age. We also show that this is driven by increased cytokine signaling (interleukin-7) and elevated levels of a normal metabolite (n-acetylglucosamine). Interestingly, this age-associated change is sex dimorphic, with a greater effect in older women than men. Correcting/reversing this change might help protect older adults from infections and cancer.
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