Aged mice fail to upregulate ICAM-1 after Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal infection.

Abstract

These data suggest that the disparate response to ocular P. aeruginosa infection in young versus aged mice is due, at least in part, to the inability of aged animals to upregulate ICAM-1 above constitutively expressed levels. Consequently, the migration of inflammatory cells (PMNs) into infected corneas of aged mice is delayed, perhaps facilitating bacterial growth and contributing to a poor prognosis.