Introduction: Centenarians are considered a model of successful aging. Cuba exhibits one of the oldest populations in Latin America with more than two thousand centenarians. Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the immune phenotype of forty-three Cuban centenarians, their clinical characteristics such as comorbidities, frailty, body mass index, and some hemochemical parameters. Results: Centenarians had normal body mass indexes, relatively good health status, and 21.95% of them had no comorbidities; 53.6% were classified as frail, and 7% were classified as robust. In addition, 17% of centenarians were independent, and 41.46% were moderately dependent. The seroprevalence against cytomegalovirus was 100%. Concerning pro-inflammatory markers, the majority of them had very low cytokine levels and serum C-reactive protein around the normal limit. We also found the predominance of memory subsets over naive compartments in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Terminally differentiated CD8+CD28− T cells were higher in frail centenarians than in pre-frail, while CD8+CD57+ and CD8+EMRA T cells were higher in moderately and severely dependent individuals than in independent individuals. Severely dependent centenarians had a lower CD4+/CD8+ ratio. Conclusion: This study describes for the first time the predominance of memory subsets over naive compartments in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as its relation to frailty and/or dependency in a group of Cuban centenarians. Further studies are needed to continue understanding the natural biological aging mechanism and the relationship between terminally differentiated lymphocytes and inflammaging in the context of extreme longevity.

1.
Robine
JM
,
Cubaynes
S
.
Worldwide demography of centenarians
.
Mech Ageing Dev
.
2017
;
165
:
59
.
2.
Public health and aging: trends in aging – United States and Worldwide, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
.
2003 Feb 14
;
52
(
6
);
101
6
. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5206a2.htm.
3.
Cano
MdCA
.
Population aging in Cuba, from the prism of social epidemiology and ethics
.
Anales de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba
.
2016
;
6
(
No. 2
.
4.
CURSO DERECHOS HUMANOS DE LAS PERSONAS MAYORES: CONOCIMIENTOS PARA EL ANÁLISIS Y LA ACCIÓN [Internet]. LA ATENCIÓN DE LA SALUD DE LAS PERSONAS MAYORES DURANTE LA PANDEMIA POR COVID-19 [cited 2021 Dec 28]. Available from: https://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/presentations/sesion_5.1._curso_ppt.pdf. 2021:12/28.
5.
Hirokawa
K
,
Utsuyama
M
,
Hayashi
Y
,
Kitagawa
M
,
Makinodan
T
,
Fulop
T
.
Slower immune system aging in women versus men in the Japanese population
.
Immun Ageing
.
2013
;
10
:
19
.
6.
Zhixiang
Z
,
Huiru
H
,
Chinese
P
.
Frailty in centenarians in parts of Hainan province and its influencing factors
.
Academic Journal of Chinese PLA Medical School
;
2018
.
7.
Richmond
RL
,
Law
J
,
Kay-Lambkin
F
.
Physical, mental, and cognitive function in a convenience sample of centenarians in Australia
.
J Am Geriatr Soc
.
2011
;
59
:
1080
.
8.
Arai
Y
,
Martin-Ruiz
CM
,
Takayama
M
,
Abe
Y
,
Takebayashi
T
,
Koyasu
S
,
.
Inflammation, but not telomere length, predicts successful ageing at extreme old age: a longitudinal study of semi-supercentenarians
.
EBioMedicine
.
2015
;
2
:
10
.
9.
Franceschi
C
,
Ostan
R
,
Santoro
A
.
Nutrition and inflammation: are centenarians similar to individuals on calorie-restricted diets
.
Annu Rev Nutr
.
2018
;
38
:
329
.
10.
Morley
JE
,
Malmstrom
TK
,
Miller
DK
.
A simple frailty questionnaire (FRAIL) predicts outcomes in middle aged African Americans
.
J Nutr Health Aging
.
2012
;
16
:
601
.
11.
Wade
DT
,
Collin
C
.
The Barthel ADL index: a standard measure of physical disability
.
Int Disabil Stud
.
1988
;
10
:
64
.
12.
Borras
C
,
Ingles
M
,
Mas-Bargues
C
,
Dromant
M
,
Sanz-Ros
J
,
Román-Domínguez
A
,
.
Centenarians: an excellent example of resilience for successful ageing
.
Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
;
2020
. p.
186
.
13.
Rubino
G
,
Bulati
M
,
Aiello
A
,
Aprile
S
,
Gambino
CM
,
Gervasi
F
,
.
Sicilian centenarian offspring are more resistant to immune ageing
.
Aging Clin Exp Res
.
2019
;
31
:
1
.
14.
Cao Dinh
H
,
Bautmans
I
,
Beyer
I
,
Mets
T
,
Onyema
OO
,
Forti
LN
,
.
Association between immunosenescence phenotypes and pre-frailty in older subjects: does cytomegalovirus play a role
.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
.
2018
;
74
:
4
.
15.
Nishijima
TF
,
Deal
AM
,
Williams
GR
,
Guerard
EJ
,
Nyrop
KA
,
Muss
HB
.
Frailty and inflammatory markers in older adults with cancer
.
Aging
.
2017
;
9
:
650
.
16.
Salminen
M
,
Viljanen
A
,
Eloranta
S
,
Viikari
P
,
Wuorela
M
,
Vahlberg
T
,
.
Frailty and mortality: an 18-year follow-up study among Finnish community-dwelling older people
.
Aging Clin Exp Res
.
2020
;
32
:
10
.
17.
Van Epps
P
,
Oswald
D
,
Higgins
PA
,
Hornick
TR
,
Aung
H
,
Banks
RE
,
.
Frailty has a stronger association with inflammation than age in older veterans
.
Immun Ageing
.
2016
;
13
:
1
.
18.
Lu
Y
,
Tan
CTY
,
Nyunt
MSZ
,
Mok
EWH
,
Camous
X
,
Kared
H
,
.
Inflammatory and immune markers associated with physical frailty syndrome: findings from Singapore longitudinal aging studies
.
Oncotarget
.
2016
;
7
:
20
.
19.
Aiello
A
,
Accardi
G
,
Aprile
S
,
Caldarella
R
,
Carru
C
,
Ciaccio
M
,
.
Age and gender-related variations of molecular and phenotypic parameters in A cohort of sicilian population: from young to centenarians
.
Aging Dis
.
2021
;
12
:
7
.
20.
Luz Correa
B
,
Ornaghi
AP
,
Cerutti Muller
G
,
Engroff
P
,
Pestana Lopes
R
,
Gomes da Silva Filho
I
,
.
The inverted CD4:CD8 ratio is associated with cytomegalovirus, poor cognitive and functional states in older adults
.
Neuroimmunomodulation
.
2014
;
21
:
4
.
21.
Saavedra
D
,
Garcia
B
,
Lage
A
.
T Cell subpopulations in healthy elderly and lung cancer patients: insights from Cuban studies
.
Front Immunol
.
2017
;
8
:
146
.
22.
Thomasini
RL
,
Pereira
DS
,
Pereira
FSM
,
Mateo
EC
,
Mota
TN
,
Guimarães
GG
,
.
Aged-associated cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus reactivation and cytomegalovirus relationship with the frailty syndrome in older women
.
PLoS One
.
2017
;
12
:
7
.
23.
Saavedra
D
,
Garcia
B
,
Lorenzo-Luaces
P
,
Gonzalez
A
,
Popa
X
,
Fuentes
KP
,
.
Biomarkers related to immunosenescence: relationships with therapy and survival in lung cancer patients
.
Cancer Immunol Immunother
.
2016
;
65
:
1
.
24.
Ligotti
ME
,
Aiello
A
,
Accardi
G
,
Aprile
S
,
Bonura
F
,
Bulati
M
,
.
Analysis of T and NK cell subsets in the Sicilian population from young to supercentenarian: the role of age and gender
.
Clin Exp Immunol
.
2021
;
205
(
2
):
198
212
.
25.
García Verdecia
B
,
Saavedra Hernández
D
,
Lorenzo-Luaces
P
,
de Jesús Badía Alvarez
T
,
Leonard Rupalé
I
,
Mazorra Herrera
Z
,
.
Immunosenescence and gender: a study in healthy Cubans
.
Immun Ageing
.
2013
;
10
:
1
.
26.
Strindhall
J
,
Nilsson
BO
,
Löfgren
S
,
Ernerudh
J
,
Pawelec
G
,
Johansson
B
,
.
No immune risk profile among individuals who reach 100 years of age: findings from the Swedish NONA immune longitudinal study
.
Exp Gerontol
.
2007
;
42
:
8
.
27.
Szewieczek
J
,
Francuz
T
,
Dulawa
J
,
Legierska
K
,
Hornik
B
,
Włodarczyk
I
,
.
Functional measures, inflammatory markers and endothelin-1 as predictors of 360-day survival in centenarians
.
Age
.
2015
;
37
:
5
.
28.
Alberro
A
,
Osorio-Querejeta
I
,
Sepúlveda
L
,
Fernández-Eulate
G
,
Mateo-Abad
M
,
Muñoz-Culla
M
,
.
T cells and immune functions of plasma extracellular vesicles are differentially modulated from adults to centenarians
.
Aging
.
2019
;
11
:
22
.
29.
Effros
RB
,
Boucher
N
,
Porter
V
,
Zhu
X
,
Spaulding
C
,
Walford
RL
,
.
Decline in CD28+ T cells in centenarians and in long-term T cell cultures: a possible cause for both in vivo and in vitro immunosenescence
.
Exp Gerontol
.
1994
;
29
:
6
.
30.
Goldeck
D
,
Adriaensen
W
,
Oettinger
L
,
Vaes
B
,
van Pottelbergh
G
,
Degryse
JM
,
.
Cellular immune phenotypes and worsening scores of frailty-associated parameters over an 18-month period in the very old
.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
.
2021
;
76
:
8
.
31.
Pawelec
G
.
Does the human immune system ever really become “senescent”
.
F1000Res
.
2017
;
6
:
6
.
32.
Kokuina
E
,
Breff-Fonseca
MC
,
Villegas-Valverde
CA
,
Mora-Díaz
I
.
Normal values of T, B and NK lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood of healthy Cuban adults
.
MEDICC Rev
.
2019
;
21
:
16
21
.
33.
Alberro
A
,
Iribarren-Lopez
A
,
Sáenz-Cuesta
M
,
Matheu
A
,
Vergara
I
,
Otaegui
D
.
Inflammaging markers characteristic of advanced age show similar levels with frailty and dependency
.
Sci Rep
.
2021
;
11
(
1
):
4358
.
34.
Marcos-Pérez
D
,
Sánchez-Flores
M
,
Maseda
A
,
Lorenzo-López
L
,
Millán-Calenti
JC
,
Gostner
JM
,
.
Frailty in older adults is associated with plasma concentrations of inflammatory mediators but not with lymphocyte subpopulations
.
Front Immunol
.
2018
;
9
:
1056
.
35.
Samson
LD
,
Buisman
AM
,
Ferreira
JA
,
Picavet
HSJ
,
Verschuren
WMM
,
Boots
AMH
,
.
Relation of inflammatory marker trajectories with frailty and aging in a 20-year longitudinal study
.
bioRxiv
.
2021
.
36.
Sayed
N
,
Gao
T
,
Tibshirani
R
,
Hastie
T
,
Cui
L
,
Kuznetsova
T
,
.
An inflammatory clock predicts multi-morbidity, immunosenescence and cardiovascular aging in humans
.
bioRxiv
.
2019
.
37.
Salvioli
S
,
Monti
D
,
Lanzarini
C
,
Conte
M
,
Pirazzini
C
,
Bacalini
MG
,
.
Immune system, cell senescence, aging and longevity--inflamm-aging reappraised
.
Curr Pharm Des
.
2013
;
19
:
9
.
38.
Arai
Y
,
Kamide
K
,
Hirose
N
.
Adipokines and aging: findings from centenarians and the very old
.
Front Endocrinol
.
2019
;
10
:
142
.
39.
Pawelec
G
.
Immune signatures associated with mortality differ in elderly populations from different birth cohorts and countries even within northern Europe
.
Mech Ageing Dev
.
2019
;
177
:
182
.
40.
Han
K
,
Wang
S
,
Jia
W
,
Cao
W
,
Liu
M
,
Yang
S
,
.
Serum albumin and activities of daily living in Chinese centenarians: a cross-sectional study
.
BMC Geriatrics
.
2020
;
20
:
1
.
41.
Bucci
L
,
Ostan
R
,
Giampieri
E
,
Cevenini
E
,
Pini
E
,
Scurti
M
,
.
Immune parameters identify Italian centenarians with a longer five-year survival independent of their health and functional status
.
Exp Gerontol
.
2014
;
54
:
14
20
.
42.
Hammami
S
,
Ghzaiel
I
,
Hammouda
S
,
Sakly
N
,
Hammami
M
,
Zarrouk
A
.
Evaluation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in frail Tunisian older adults
.
PLoS One
.
2020
;
15
:
e0242152
.
You do not currently have access to this content.