Abstract

Background The immune cell compartment of the mammalian brain changes dramatically and peripheral T cells infiltrate the brain parenchyma during normal aging. However, the mechanisms underlying age-related T cell infiltration in the central nervous system remain unclear. Results Chronic inflammation and peripheral T cell infiltration were observed in the subventricular zone of aged mice. Cell-cell interaction analysis revealed that aged microglia released CCL3 to recruit peripheral CD8 + memory T cells. Moreover, the aged microglia shifted towards a pro-inflammation state and released TNF-α to upregulate the expression of VCAM1 and ICAM1 in brain venous endothelial cells, which promoted the transendothelial migration of peripheral T cells. In vitro experiment reveals that human microglia would also transit to a chemotactic phenotype when treated with CSF from the elderly. Conclusions Our research demonstrated that microglia play an important role in the aging process of brain by shifting towards a pro-inflammation and chemotactic state. Aged microglia promote T cell infiltration by releasing chemokines and upregulating adhesion molecules on venous brain endothelial cells.