Age-related changes in blood and spleen-derived immune cells in long and short lived mice strains [ATAC-seq]

Immune system aging contributes significantly to declining health with age. It is unknown to what extent human and mice immune systems go through similar age-related changes and whether there are conserved biomarkers of aging. We characterized age-related changes in the immune system of long (C57BL/6J) and short-lived (NZO/HILtJ) strains and compared them with blood-driven human aging signatures. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), spleen cells and spleen-driven naive and memory CD8+ T cells were profiled using flow cytometry, RNA-seq and ATAC-seq from young (3 months) and old (18 months) mice. Pro-inflammatory myeloid genes were activated with age across strains and tissues, echoing human 'inflammaging' signatures. ATAC-seq footprinting analyses uncovered increased binding of pro-inflammatory transcription factors with age (e.g., AP1 complex, NFKB signaling pathway). Machine learning models identified inflammation, cytotoxic, and naive T cell derived genes to be strong signatures of immunosenescence. These data are publicly shared as a resource for immune aging (https://immune-aging.jax.org/mice). Spleen, PBL and spleen sorted CD8+ T cell profiles of B6 and NZO mice at 3,12 and 18 months