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The study of 87 adults of different ages, including 15 centenarians, selected for their healthy status, showed that profound changes of humoral immunity occur throughout life. In particular, a statistically significant age-related increase of the serum level of immunoglobulin classes (IgG and IgA but not IgM) and IgG subclasses (IgG1, 2 and 3, but not IgG4) was detected. A parallel age-related decrease of circulating B cells was also observed. The hypothesis of a complex derangement of B cell function and/or compartmentalization with age is put forward, together with the proposal that healthy centenarians (as representative of successful ageing) may be helpful in identifying the physiological age-related modifications of the immune system.
Paganelli et al. (1992) studied this question.