RELATION BETWEEN EXPLORATORY ACTIVITY AND IMMUNE FUNCTION IN AGED MICE - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

Previous studies show that fast exploration of a T-shaped maze by matu re mice may predict an above average longevity. Since the nervous and the immune systems work in a coordinated fashion, and it seems that th ese two homeostatic systems both influence organismic aging and suffer a senescent decline, we have performed a comparative study of the abo ve behavioral parameter and different functions of three representativ e immune cells. lymphocytes, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells obtained from old (76 +/- 1 weeks of age) female OF1-Swiss mice. At 7 0 weeks of age the mice were divided into a 'fast' and a 'slow' group, containing 100 and 0%, respectively, of animals able to explore the 5 0 cm-long first arm of the maze in 20 s or less. At 76 +/- 1 weeks of age the animals were sacrificed, the peritoneal cell suspensions were obtained and the immune organs (axillary nodes, spleen and thymus) wer e isolated, The following leukocyte functions were studied in peritone al macrophages: adherence to substrate, mobility (spontaneous and chem otaxis), ingestion of particles and superoxide anion production wherea s mobility, lymphoproliferative response to the mitogen Con A and NK a ctivity were studied in the immune-organ leukocyte suspensions. The re sults show that the aged fast mice have better immune functions than t he aged slow mice. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights r eserved.