ABSTRACT
Aging is associated with the dysregulation of immune and inflammatory responses. Studies indicate that a multitude of defects involving different immune cells are responsible for the decline of immune function and dysregulation of inflammatory responses observed with aging. This chapter discusses investigations on gene expression, the profiling of the immune cells as well as the application of microarray analysis to understand the molecular mechanisms of age-associated immune dysregulation. The immune response involves an interaction between various immune cells. Immune responses are classified as innate and adaptive, or as specific immune responses. The specific immune responses can be divided into humoral and cell-mediated immune response based on the types of immune cells involved. The global view of the gene expression patterns of the immune cells and comparison of those between immune cells originated from young and old host will help identify the pathways or changes most profoundly affected with aging.
