Enhanced monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 production in aging mice exaggerates cardiac depression during endotoxemia

Endotoxemia and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome have a significant impact on post-surgery outcome, particularly in the elderly. The cytokine response to endotoxin is altered by aging. We tested the hypothesis that vulnerability to endotoxemic cardiac depression increases with aging due to age-related augmentation of myocardial inflammatory responses. Adult (4 to 6 months) and old (20 to 22 months) C57/BL6 mice were treated with...