VSMC were isolated from murine thoracic aortas as described in Methods. Non-stimulated VSMC were collected, and chemokines and adhesion molecules were measured by qRT-PCR (A). Results are presented as means ± SEM. Data shown represent one experiment with n =12 mice as a source of cells / group. CCL5, CXCL2, and CXCL10 were measured in the supernatants of cultured, non-stimulated VSMC by ELISA (B). Western blot analysis measuring ICAM1 and VCAM1 protein levels (C). Differences between young and aged VSMC were analyzed using Student's t-test. *, P<0.05; **P<0.01. In (C) the values are normalized to β-actin expression and represent fold change to young VSMC value. Data shown in (B) and (C) are representative of two independent experiments, with n = at least 4 mice / group / experiment as a source of cells. All comparisons between young and aged groups were paired and performed contemporaneously.