HLA-A and HLA-B transcription decrease with ageing in peripheral blood leucocytes

SummaryImmunosenescence involves modifications of humoral and cellular immunity. In a previous study, we have shown a locus-dependent reduction of HLA class-I cell surface expression on peripheral lymphocytes and monocytes with advancing age. Here we report the quantitative analysis of HLA-A and -B transcripts from PBL of 54 healthy subjects aged 21–90 years. Using a competitive RT-PCR method, we observed a significant decrease of HLA-A (P