INFLUENCE OF AGE ON THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-8-LIKE CHEMOKINE (GRO CINC-1) IN RAT NASAL-MUCOSA/

The ability of the nasal mucosa to produce various cytokines has been shown to correlate closely with the capacity to regulate an inflammato ry condition in the nasal cavity. Immune senescence is characterized b y a dysregulation of the immune system. This change is reflected by th e altered production of cytokines during aging. We measured the in viv o production and gene expression of IL-8-like cytokines (GRO/CINC-1) i n nasal lavages and mucosa from young (2- to 4-week-old and 11-to 15-w eek-old) and older (81-to 98-week-old) rats by using enzyme-linked imm unosorbent assays and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions . Significant increases of GRO/CINC-1 levels were found in unstimulate d nasal lavages of the older rats compared to that of the 2- to 4-week -old animals. GRO/CINC-1 showed time-dependent production with lipopol ysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in nasal lavages. The GRO/CINC-1 product ion reached a plateau by 4 h with LPS in any group. However, the manne r of the initial time course showed no significant differences among t hese three groups. At the time of peak production of GRO/CINC-1, messe nger RNA for the GRO/CINC-1 was found to be induced in the nasal mucos a. These findings may be important for understanding the mechanisms of the altered immune response and inflammation in the nasal cavity asso ciated with aging.