IAI FigSearch
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Krisanaprakornkit, S.
Right arrow Articles by Dale, B. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Krisanaprakornkit, S.
Right arrow Articles by Dale, B. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, September 1998, p. 4222-4228, Vol. 66, No. 9
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Expression of the Peptide Antibiotic Human beta -Defensin 1 in Cultured Gingival Epithelial Cells and Gingival Tissue

Suttichai Krisanaprakornkit,1 Aaron Weinberg,2 Christopher N. Perez,1 and Beverly A. Dale1,2,3,*

Department of Oral Biology1 and Department of Periodontics,2 School of Dentistry, and Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine/Dermatology, School of Medicine,3 University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195

Received 25 November 1997/Returned for modification 7 January 1998/Accepted 24 June 1998

Human beta -defensin-1 (hBD-1) is a member of the family of small cationic antimicrobial peptides that have been identified in several mucosal epithelia. Because human gingival epithelium is a site that is constantly challenged by oral microorganisms, we examined the expression of hBD-1 in human gingival epithelial and fibroblast cell cultures and tissue samples. Cell cultures were challenged with cell wall extracts of Porphyromonas gingivalis or Fusobacterium nucleatum, Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, tumor necrosis factor alpha, or phorbol myristate acetate. hBD-1 mRNA was detected in unstimulated and stimulated cultures by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR using several primer sets specific for hBD-1. Gingival epithelial cells, but not gingival fibroblasts, expressed a product of the predicted size for hBD-1 mRNA. The sequence of the PCR product was identical to that of hBD-1. hBD-1 mRNA expression was not significantly modulated by any of the stimulants tested. Human gingival tissues from noninflamed and inflamed sites were also analyzed by RT-PCR. hBD-1 mRNA was expressed in all tissue samples. The relative expression of hBD-1 mRNA was similar in noninflamed and inflamed tissues obtained from each of four patients undergoing treatment for periodontitis. However, the relative expression of hBD-1 mRNA varied in gingival biopsies obtained from 15 different normal individuals, and the relative hBD-1 expression was unrelated to interleukin-8 expression. Our findings show the constitutive expression of hBD-1 mRNA in cultured epithelial cells and gingival tissues but not gingival fibroblasts. These findings suggest that expression of hBD-1 may play a role as part of the innate host defenses in maintaining normal gingival health.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Oral Biology, Box 357132, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7132. Phone: (206) 543-4393. Fax: (206) 685-8024. E-mail: bdale{at}u.washington.edu.

Infection and Immunity, September 1998, p. 4222-4228, Vol. 66, No. 9
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 1998 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.