Quantitative analysis of cytokine gene expression in the liver.

Autor: Takahashi, Megumi, Nishimura, Taiji, Yokomuro, Kozo, Takahashi
Předmět:
Zdroj: Immunology & Cell Biology; Apr1999, Vol. 77 Issue 2, p139-142, 4p, 1 Black and White Photograph, 1 Diagram, 1 Graph
Abstrakt: The relative levels of cytokine gene expression in the liver were analysed, focusing on IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IFN-γ compared to those in the spleen and Peyer’s patch by using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The levels of expression of cytokines in the liver mononuclear cells (MNC), especially that of IL-6, were significantly higher than in other organs when mice were reared under specific pathogen-free (SPF) or conventional conditions. Both the spleen and Peyer’s patch MNC expressed little of any of the cytokines, except for IL-4 in Peyer’s patch MNC. The liver MNC produced significant amounts of IL-6 in the culture supernatant upon concanavalin A stimulation. These findings suggest that the liver is a potent IL-6- producing organ, which may relate to B cell differentiation, liver regeneration and the induction of acute phase proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index