EXPRESSION OF CYTOKINES ON HUMAN BRONCHIAL EPITHELIAL-CELLS INDUCED BY INFLUENZA-VIRUS-A

Bronchial epithelial cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of some inflammatory diseases of bronchial mucosa. Epithelial-cell-der ived cytokines are important in the elucidation of the mechanism by wh ich airway inflammation occurs, especially in respiratory virus infect ion, because these cells are the primary sites of viral infection. We infected bronchial epithelial cells, NCI-H292, with influenza virus A (H3N2) and examined the concentrations of cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL -6), IL-8 and regulated on activation, normal T cells, expressed and s ecreted (RANTES), in the culture media of infected cells using the enz yme-linked immunosorbent assay system and gene expression of RANTES on epithelial cells by the reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reacti on method. We found that significant amounts of IL-6, IL-8 and RANTES were released. RANTES mRNA was also detected in infected bronchial epi thelial cells. It is suggested that cytokine production in human bronc hial epithelial cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of airway inf lammatory disorders.