%0 Journal Article
%T Increased activation and cytokine secretion in B cells stimulated with leptin in aged humans
%A Gupta Sudhir
%A Agrawal Sudhanshu
%A Gollapudi Sastry
%J Immunity & Ageing
%D 2013
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1742-4933-10-3
%X Aging is associated chronic inflammation and autoimmunity, and increased levels of leptin. Increased levels of leptin are associated with inflammation and autoimmunity. We have recently reported that leptin activates B cells to induce secretion of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Role of B cells and leptin in inflammation associated with aging has not been explored. In this study we demonstrate that leptin activates and induces significantly greater amount of IL-6, TNF-¦Á, and IL-10 by B cells from aged humans as compared to young controls. This is associated with increased leptin-induced phosphorylation of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) in B cells from aged humans as compared to young subjects. These data suggest that leptin-induced B cell-derived proinflammatory cytokines may play a role in chronic inflammation associated with human aging.
%K TNF-¦Á
%K IL-6
%K IL-10
%K B cells
%U http://www.immunityageing.com/content/10/1/3