IL-8 producing cells in patients with Behcet's disease

Objective IL-8 is thought to be the principal chemokine responsible for neutrophil ac tivation and tissue infiltration in patients with Behcet's disease (BD). In various studies serum levels of IL-8 were reported to be increased. Methods IL-8 mRNA was purified from both peripheral whole blood samples and separat ed lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes of patients with BD and compared to that from healthy (HC) and disease controls. IL-8 sequences were reveal ed by PCR amplification using appropriate sequence-specific primers, mRNA l evels were determined semi-quantitatively using an image analyser in compar ison with beta-actin. Results Although the differences did not reach statistical significance, BD patient s tended to have higher IL-8 mRNA levels compared to HC in whole blood samp les (2.0 +/- 1.4 vs 1.5 +/- 1.2) as well as in their lymphocytes (2.7 +/- 1 .6 vs 1.5 +/- 0.9). No differences were observed between BD and HC in monoc yte or granulocyte IL-8 mRNA levels. Conclusion Our results suggest that the cellular source of IL-8 is diverse in BD with a possible major contribution by lymphocytes.