mRNA expression of cytokines and chemokines in the normal gastric surface mucous epithelial cell line GSM06 during bacterial infection with Helicobacter felis

Background and aim: A group of the proinflammatory and chemotactic cytokine s (chemokines) has been considered as an important factor in the pathomecha nism of different bacterial diseases, among them the common Helicobacter py lori infection. Experimental results obtained with gastric biopsy samples o f H. pylori positive patients, and with H. pylori infected tumor originated gastric cell lines indicated that these cytokines have essential roles in the development and maintenance of the immune response and inflammation of the gastric mucosa during H. pylori infection. Although the mRNA expression was shown in these biopsy samples and cell lines, it is not yet proved tha t the normal gastric mucosal epithelial cells themselves express these cyto kines. The establishment of a gastric surface mucous cell line with non-tum or origin (GSM06), and the usage of Helicobacter felis as a model of the cl assic H. pylori infection gave us the possibility to check this question. M aterials and methods: in this study GSM06 cells were infected with differen t numbers (10(5), 10(6), 10(7), 10(8), 10(9) bacterium/ml medium) of H.feli s for two different time periods (2, 4 h). Cells treated with medium only w ere used as control. Then the mRNA expression of the following cytokines wa s measured by RT-PCR method in the GSM06 cells: proinflammatory cytokine IL 1-beta, and chemokine RANTES, eotaxin, MCP-1, MIP1-alpha and MIP1-beta. Res ults: we found that neither mRNA of the investigated cytokines was expresse d constitutively, however the GSM06 cells expressed the mRNA of each cytoki ne during H. felis infection. Conclusion: our results prove that normal gas tric surface mucous epithelial cells express immunologically active peptide s during H.felis infection. We may suppose that the epithelial cells of the gastric mucosa contribute to the immune response and inflammation by expre ssing proinflammatory (IL1-beta) and chemotactic (RANTES, eotaxin, MCP-1, M IP1-alpha and beta) cytokines during H. pylori infection in human. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.