Aging is associated with greater nuclear NFκB, reduced IκBα, and increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines in vascular endothelial cells of healthy humans

Summary The vascular endothelium may develop a proinflammatory profile with aging, but evidence is limited in humans. Expression of inflammatory proteins was determined in vascular endothelial cells (EC) obtained from peripheral veins of 24 young (23 ± 1 years, mean ± SE) and 36 older (63 ± 1) healthy men and women using quantitative immunofluorescence. The older subjects had lower vascular endothelium‐dependent dilation (forearm blood flow responses to acetylcholine, p  < 0.05), and higher plasma concentrations of C‐reactive protein, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (all p  < 0.05), but not tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). Total (O: 0.52 ± 0.04 vs. Y: 0.33 ± 0.05 NFκB/HUVEC intensity, p  < 0.05) and nuclear (O: 0.59 ± 0.04 vs. Y: 0.41 ± 0.04) expression of nuclear factor κ B p65 (NFκB), a proinflammatory gene transcription factor, was greater in EC from the older subjects ( p <  0.05). EC expression of the inhibitor (of nuclear translocation) of NFκB (IκBα) was lower in the older subjects (O: 0.16 ± 0.02 vs. Y: 0.24 ± 0.03, p  < 0.05), whereas IκB kinase (IκK) was not different. EC expression of the proinflammatory proteins IL‐6 (O: 0.42 ± 0.06 vs. Y: 0.29 ± 0.03, p  < 0.05), TNF‐α (O: 0.52 ± 0.06 vs. Y: 0.33 ± 0.05, p  < 0.05) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP‐1) (O: 0.59 ± 0.06 vs. Y: 0.38 ± 0.02, p  < 0.05) was greater in the older subjects, whereas cyclooxygenase 2 and the receptor for advanced glycation end‐products did not differ. These findings indicate that impaired function with aging in healthy adults is associated with the development of a proinflammatory phenotype in the vascular endothelium that could be caused in part by reduced IκB‐mediated inhibition of NFκB.