Effects of Aging on Influenza Virus Infection Dynamics

Abstract

The fits of our models to the experimental data suggest that the increased levels of IFN-α/β, IFN-γ, and TNF-α (the "inflammaging" state) promote slower viral growth in aged mice, which consequently limits the stimulation of immune cells and contributes to the reported impaired responses in the elderly. A quantitative understanding of influenza virus pathogenesis and its shift in the elderly is the key contribution of this work.