EXPRESSION OF CERULOPLASMIN GENE IN HUMAN AND RAT LYMPHOCYTES

The acute phase plasma protein ceruloplasmin (Cp) appears to play some role in host defense. The possibility that production of Cp in extrah epatic sites may also be essential for the activation, effector functi ons and cytoprotection of immune cells in localized environments has r eceived minimal attention. Here, we have surveyed various types of hum an and rat immune cells for the presence of Cp mRNA using RT-PCR with primers that span exons 17-19 as an initial step in addressing this po ssibility. Validated Cp RT-PCR bands were obtained from RNA samples is olated from resting and activated human lymphocytes, CD4 and CD8 T-cel ls and B-cells. Semiquantitative RT-PCR indicated that Cp mRNA in immu ne cells is present at about 0.2% the level of Cp mRNA in HepG-2 human liver cell line. Various human cell lines derived from the immune sys tem, rat splenic MNC and purified rat T-lymphocytes also constitutivel y express Cp gene.