ImmunAgeD

ImmunAgeD includes 120 subjects participating in the cross-sectional substudy, and an estimated 500 patients, representing the cohort explored longitudinally, formerly enrolled as healthy controls in the FUSE study.

The overall objective of the project is to describe the genetic and environmental factors, which influence the physiological ageing of the immune system.

The specific objectives of ImmunAgeD include:
1. Evaluating immune and epigenetic profiles in a diverse Romanian population with individuals of different ages, from rural and urban backgrounds, with different dietary habits;
2. Studying the impact of traditional Romanian fasting, when compared to a Western diet, on immune and epigenetic ageing scores in a cross-sectional study;
3. Studying the effect of traditional Romanian fasting on immune and epigenetic ageing scores in a longitudinal study.

The ImmunAgeD project will integrate state-of-the-art molecular technologies (epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) with functional immunological assays and cutting-edge systems biology approaches to characterise the factors influencing immune ageing in the Romanian population. We will use these technologies to calculate immune ageing scores and their association with chronological age, body fitness and comorbidities.