FOXO and HSF1 rejuvenate immunity via positive feedback regulation of insulin/IGF-1 signaling

A hallmark of aging is immunosenescence, a decline in immune function that appeared to be inevitable. Surprisingly, here we show that genetic inhibition of DAF-2/insulin/IGF-1 receptor drastically delays immunosenescence and even rejuvenates immunity in C. elegans. We find that p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (PMK-1), a key determinant of immunosenescence in wild-type, is dispensable for this rejuvenated immunity. Instead, we demonstrate that longevity-promoting DAF-16/FOXO and heat-shock transcription factor 1 (HSF-1) increase immunocompetence in old daf-2(-) animals. The up-regulation of DAF-16/FOXO and HSF-1 decreases the expression of zip-10/bZip transcription factor, which in turn down-regulates ins-7, an agonistic insulin-like peptide, for further reduction in insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS). Thus, reduced IIS bypasses immunosenescence and rejuvenates immunity via up-regulating anti-aging transcription factors that regulate an endocrine insulin-like peptide through a positive feedback mechanism. Because many functions of IIS are conserved across phyla, our study may lead to developing strategies for immune rejuvenation in humans.