# CYTOKINE GENE EXPRESSION BY CD4+ CELLS IN AGING MICE

> **NIH NIH R01** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 1992 · $184,211

## Abstract

The long-term goals of this project are: i) to understand the spatial
restrictions on cytokine gene expression - and, consequently, on cell
function - within the CD4+T cell population of healthy individuals, and
ii) to identify, within, the CD4+ T cell compartment of elderly
individuals, alterations which may underlie the phenomenon of
immunosenescence.  It is proposed herein to use the mouse system to
model phenotypic and functional heterogeneity among human CD4+ T cells.
Flow cytofluorometric techniques will be used to analyze splenic CD4+
cells from young adult, middle-aged, and old mice for the simultaneous
expression of three cell surface determinants - 3G11, CD45RB, and CD44 -
thought to demarcate CD4+ cell subsets with restricted patterns of
cytokine production and cell function.  Subsequently, CD4+ cells,
isolated from mice of each age group, will be stimulated with
anti-CD3epsilon monoclonal antibody in vitro and then evaluated for: i)
extent of cell cycle entry and progression and ii) patterns of
production of several T cell-associated cytokines, monitored at the
level of either steady-state mRNA accumulation or protein secretion.  In
addition, CD4+ cells from young Thy-1 allotype congenic mice and from
old mice of the appropriate background strain will be used in cell
mixing experiments to study age-related alterations in CD4+-CD4+ cell
communications.  In order to correlate patterns of 3G11, CD45RB, and
CD44 expression with CD4+ cell function, cell subsets will be isolated
based on the expressed levels of these markers and then evaluated for
stimulation-dependent cell cycle progression and patterns of cytokine
gene expression.  Comparative analyses will be performed both with
distinct subsets within the young group and with subset-matched
preparations between age groups.  Finally, the cell-mixing experiments
described above will be extended to include evaluations of subset-subset
communications among CD4+ cells from young mice, and potential
alterations in these communications with advancing mouse age.  Results
from these studies should further our understanding of functional
heterogeneity in the CD4+ cell compartment of healthy individuals, and
of the consequences of aging on the representation and competence of
CD4+ cell subsets.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3121741
- **Project number:** 1R01AG009822-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** PHZJFZ32NKH4
- **Principal Investigator:** MONTE V HOBBS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $184,211
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1992-01-15 → 1995-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3121741

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3121741, CYTOKINE GENE EXPRESSION BY CD4+ CELLS IN AGING MICE (1R01AG009822-01A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3121741. Licensed CC0.

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