Chemokine Expression in Human Oral Keratinocyte Cell Lines and Keratinized Mucosa

Chemoattractant cytokines regulate the immune response within the tissue by recruiting neutrophils and macrophages. These so-called chemokines include a large family of peptide molecules encoded by distinct genes. Their expression is controlled by a variety of microbial and host factors. Among host factors, interleukin-1 (IL-1) is thought to be a key regulator of tissue destruction and mediator of the local immune response. To study its influence on chemokine expression, we used a highly sensitive, semi-quantitative method to assess gene expression at the level of mRNA. RNA was extracted from human oral keratinocyte cell lines after treatment with recombinant human IL-1. To test the method further and possibly establish a chemokine mRNA expression pattern, we also extracted RNA from healthy oral keratinized mucosa. Purified RNA was reverse-transcribed and subsequently amplified in a polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) by means of specific primer pairs. Amplified sequences were analyzed by agarose gel elect...