Fig. 1

Study design and hypothesis. We evaluated the effect of chronological age on monocyte NF-κB signaling (p65/RelA S529 basal phosphorylation levels and induction of phosphorylation upon TLR4 and TNF-R stimulation) by comparing Young to Older Controls. We evaluated the role of monocyte NF-κB dysregulation in the aging process by comparison of two populations of older individuals with different aging trajectories: recently hospitalized Patients (hypothesized to exhibit signs of accelerated aging) and age-matched Older Controls. Furthermore, we explored whether the possible role of altered monocyte NF-κB signaling in aging was mediated by chronic inflammation, frailty, physical and cognitive decline. We also tested whether CMV-infection was a confounder for the association of monocyte NF-κB signaling with aging. Abbreviations: CMV: cytomegalovirus; TLR: Toll-like receptor; TNF-R: tumor necrosis factor receptor.