Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40036082›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2025

The inflammaging microenvironment induces dysfunctional rewiring of Tfh cell differentiation.

Cody S Nelson, Manuel A Podestà, Maya G Gempler, Jeong-Mi Lee, Cole J Batty, Peterson G Mathenge, Asra Sainju, Matthew R Chang, Hanzhong Ke, Pragya Chandrakar and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Targeting T follicular helper cells for lifelong health.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Highlights of 2025: advances in germinal centers.Immunology and cell biology · 2026
    Review
  4. Aging restricts maturation of CXCL13bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Cody S NelsonTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Manuel A PodestàTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Maya G GemplerTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Jeong-Mi LeeTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Cole J BattyDepartment of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Peterson G MathengeDepartment of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Asra SainjuDepartment of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Matthew R ChangDepartment of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Hanzhong KeDepartment of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Pragya ChandrakarTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Elsa BechuTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Sierra RichardsonTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Cecilia B CavazzoniTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Stefan G TulliusDivision of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Reza AbdiTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.
Musie GhebremichaelRagon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Marcia C HaigisDepartment of Cell Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Wayne A MarascoDepartment of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Peter T SageTransplantation Research Center, Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine; and.

Funding

The impact of HIV viral diversity and cellular immunity on HIV pathogenesisP30AI060354 · NIAID · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (MEDICAL SCHOOL) · PI ARTHUR Y KIM · 2004 to 2026
$94.4M
IMMUNOLOGIC BASIS OF RESISTANCE AND HYPERSENSITIVITYT32AI007306 · NIAID · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Nora Amanda Barrett, Joshua A Boyce · 1985 to 2026
$12.2M
Nano Immune-Imaging CoreP01AI175397 · NIAID · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Reza Abdi, Stefan Gunther Tullius · 2024 to 2026
$9.5M
Identification of Metabolic and Immune Deficits in the Aged Population and Their Restoration to Achieve Youthful Anti-Influenza Vaccine ResponsivenessU01AI165442 · NIAID · DANA-FARBER CANCER INST · PI Wayne A. Marasco · 2022 to 2026
$5.9M
Postdoctoral Training Program in AIDS-related ResearchT32AI007386 · NIAID · DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE · PI CANTOR, HARVEY, ENGELMAN, ALAN N. · 1990 to 2023
$5.3M
Humoral Immunoregulation of Allergic Disease by Follicular T Cell SubsetsR01AI153124 · NIAID · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Peter The Sage · 2021 to 2026
$3.2M
Control of Humoral and Cellular Immunity to Viral Infections of the Lung by Follicular CD8 T CellsR01AI158413 · NIAID · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI SAGE, PETER THE · 2021 to 2025
$2.5M
Integrated Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Responses During AgingR21AI158175 · NIAID · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI SAGE, PETER THE · 2021 to 2022
$467k
NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI175397NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI060354NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI153124NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI158413NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI158175NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007306NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007386NIAID NIH HHS U01 AI165442
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Humoral immunity is orchestrated by follicular helper T (Tfh) cells, which promote cognate B cells to produce high-affinity, protective antibodies. In aged individuals, humoral immunity after vaccination is diminished despite the presence of Tfh cells, suggesting defects after initial Tfh cell formation. In this study, we utilized both murine and human systems to investigate how aging alters Tfh cell differentiation after influenza vaccination. We found that young Tfh cells underwent progressive differentiation after influenza vaccination, culminating in clonal expansion of effector-like cells in both draining lymph nodes and blood. In aging, early stages of Tfh cell development occurred normally. However, aging rewired the later stages of development in Tfh cells, resulting in a transcriptional program reflective of cellular senescence, sustained pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and metabolic reprogramming. We investigated the extent to which this rewiring of aged Tfh cells is due to the age-associated inflammatory ("inflammaging") microenvironment and found that this setting was sufficient to both block the transition of Tfh cells to a post-effector resting state and skew Tfh cells toward the age-rewired state. Together, these data suggest that aging dampens humoral immunity by cytokine-mediated rewiring of late effector Tfh cell differentiation into an activated, yet less functional, cellular state.

Indexed as

AgingCell DifferentiationInflammationT Follicular Helper CellsT-Lymphocytes, Helper-InducerAnimalsB-LymphocytesCellular MicroenvironmentCellular SenescenceCytokinesFemaleHumansImmunity, HumoralInfluenza VaccinesMaleMiceCytokinesInfluenza VaccinesAdaptive immunityAgingImmunologyInfluenzaT cells

Identifiers

PMID40036082
PMCPMC12016926

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.