CD8+ T-cell metabolism is related to cerebrovascular reactivity in middle-aged adults

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) decreases with advancing age, contributing to increased risk of cognitive impairment; however, the mechanisms underlying the age-related decrease in CVR are incompletely understood. Age-related changes to T cells, such as impaired mitochondrial respiration, increased inflammation, likely contribute to peripheral and cerebrovascular dysfunction in animals. However, whether T-cell mitochondrial respiration is related to cerebrovascular function in humans is not known. Therefore, we hypothesized that peripheral T-cell mitochondrial respiration would be positively associated with CVR and that T-cell glycolytic metabolism would be negatively associated with CVR. Twenty middle-aged adults (58 ± 5 yr) were recruited for this study. T cells were separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Cellular oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR, a marker of glycolytic activity) were measured using extracellular flux analysis. CVR was quantified using the breath-hold index (BHI), which reflects the change in blood velocity in the middle-cerebral artery (MCAv) during a 30-s breath-hold. In contrast to our hypothesis, we found that basal OCR in CD8+ T cells (β = -0.59, R2 = 0.27, P = 0.019) was negatively associated with BHI. However, in accordance with our hypothesis, we found that basal ECAR (β = -2.20, R2 = 0.29, P = 0.015) and maximum ECAR (β = -50, R2 = 0.24, P = 0.029) were negatively associated with BHI in CD8+ T cells. There were no associations observed in CD4+ T cells. These associations appeared to be primarily mediated by an association with the pressor response to the breath-hold test. Overall, our findings suggest that CD8+ T-cell respiration and glycolytic activity may influence CVR in humans.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Peripheral T-cell metabolism is related to in vivo cerebrovascular reactivity in humans. Higher glycolytic metabolism in CD8+ T cells was associated with lower cerebrovascular reactivity to a breath-hold in middle-aged adults, which is possibly reflective of a more proinflammatory state in midlife.

Vascular determinants of hippocampal viscoelastic properties in healthy adults across the lifespan

Arterial stiffness and cerebrovascular pulsatility are non-traditional risk factors of Alzheimer's disease. However, there is a gap in understanding the earliest mechanisms that link these vascular determinants to brain aging. Changes to mechanical tissue properties of the hippocampus (HC), a brain structure essential for memory encoding, may reflect the impact of vascular dysfunction on brain aging. We tested the hypothesis that arterial stiffness and cerebrovascular pulsatility are related to HC tissue properties in healthy adults across the lifespan. Twenty-five adults underwent measurements of brachial blood pressure (BP), large elastic artery stiffness, middle cerebral artery pulsatility index (MCAv PI), and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a sensitive measure of HC viscoelasticity. Individuals with higher carotid pulse pressure (PP) exhibited lower HC stiffness (β = -0.39, r = -0.41, p = 0.05), independent of age and sex. Collectively, carotid PP and MCAv PI significantly explained a large portion of the total variance in HC stiffness (adjusted R2 = 0.41, p = 0.005) in the absence of associations with HC volumes. These cross-sectional findings suggest that the earliest reductions in HC tissue properties are associated with alterations in vascular function.

Blood lipid markers are associated with hippocampal viscoelastic properties and memory in humans

Age-related memory loss shares similar risk factors as cardiometabolic diseases including elevated serum triglycerides (TGs) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The mechanisms linking these aberrant blood lipids to memory loss are not completely understood but may be partially mediated by reduced integrity of the hippocampus (HC), the primary brain structure for encoding and recalling memories. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that blood lipid markers are independently associated with memory performance and HC viscoelasticity-a noninvasive measure of brain tissue microstructural integrity assessed by high-resolution magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Twenty-six individuals across the adult lifespan were recruited (14 M/12 F; mean age: 42 ± 15 y; age range: 22-78 y) and serum lipid profiles were related to episodic memory and HC viscoelasticity. All subjects were generally healthy without clinically abnormal blood lipids or memory loss. Episodic memory was negatively associated with the TG/HDL-C ratio. HC viscoelasticity was negatively associated with serum TGs and the TG/HDL-C ratio, independent of age and in the absence of associations with HC volume. These data, although cross-sectional, suggest that subtle differences in blood lipid profiles in healthy adults may contribute to a reduction in memory function and HC tissue integrity.

Cardiometabolic risk factors are associated with immune cell mitochondrial respiration in humans

Modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors induce the release of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species from circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), resulting in increased cardiovascular disease risk and compromised immune health. These changes may be driven by metabolic reprogramming of PBMCs, resulting in reduced mitochondrial respiration; however, this has not been fully tested. We aimed to determine the independent associations between cardiometabolic risk factors including BMI, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and plasma lipids with mitochondrial respiration in PBMCs isolated from generally healthy individuals (n = 21) across the adult lifespan (12 men/9 women; age, 56 ± 21 yr; age range, 22-78 yr; body mass index, 27.9 ± 5.7 kg/m²; blood pressure, 123 ± 16/72 ± 10 mmHg; glucose, 90 ± 14 mg/dL; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), 111 ± 22 mg/dL; and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 62 ± 16 mg/dL). PBMCs were isolated from whole blood by density-dependent centrifugation and used to assess mitochondrial function by respirometry. Primary outcomes included basal and maximal oxygen consumption rate (OCR), which were subsequently used to determine spare respiratory capacity and OCR metabolic potential. After we corrected for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and blood glucose, LDL-C was negatively associated with maximal respiration (r = -0.56, P = 0.016), spare respiratory capacity (r = -0.58, P = 0.012), and OCR metabolic potential (r = -0.71, P = 0.0011). In addition, SBP was negatively associated with OCR metabolic potential (r = -0.62, P = 0.0056) after we corrected for DBP, blood glucose, and LDL-C. These data suggest a link between blood cholesterol, SBP, and mitochondrial health that may provide insight into how cardiometabolic risk factors contribute to impaired immune cell function.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Independent of other cardiometabolic risk factors, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure were found to be negatively associated with several parameters of mitochondrial respiration in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy adults. These data suggest that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and systolic blood pressure may induce metabolic reprogramming of immune cells, contributing to increased cardiovascular disease risk and impaired immune health.