Speaker: Christina Camell, associate professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics

Title: Age-related inflammation and organ dysfunction that is driven by an aging immune system

Abstract: Age is the greatest risk factor for chronic or infectious diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms that drive the aging of the immune system and downstream consequences on tissue function requires additional understanding. I will discuss what is known regarding immune aging, including the need to understand age-specific signals that increase chronic inflammation and organ dysfunction. We uncovered a mechanism in which macrophages maintain their inflammatory state through autocrine signaling that regulates chromatin accessibility and increases inflammation. I discuss the importance of immune aging in the context of the adipose tissue, a critical organ for lipid storage and metabolic regulation. It also increases in size with age and shows signs of aging prior to the aging of other organs. 

Host: Jacinta Correia, graduate student in the Bai Lab