Figure 3From: Blood–brain barrier dysfunction developed during normal aging is associated with inflammation and loss of tight junctions but not with leukocyte recruitment Blood–brain barrier endothelial levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The intracellular levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in cerebrovascular endothelial cells were measured with flow cytometry in the brains of 3 months old young mice and 24 months old aged mice. Example plots in (A) and mean of n = 6 in (B). Asterisks indicate statistical significance assessed with two-tailed t-test (p < 0.05, n = 6). (C) The causal association of attenuated BBB tight junction proteins, occludin-1 or ZO-1, with endothelial TNF-α was analyzed with Pearson’s correlation coefficient (n = 12). (D) The association between the cerebrovascular TNF-α and peripheral IL-6 was determined with Pearson’s correlation coefficient (n = 12).Back to article page