| Research Abstract |
1) A functional interleukin-8 (IL-8) homologue, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2, was produced by mouse vaginal epithelium, periodically after ovulation and caused neutrophil infiltration into vaginal epithelium.
2) In acute type of IgA nephropathy, urinary IL-8 levels were increased with undetectable urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1. In contrast, MCP-1 but not IL-8 levels were increased in urines from chronic type of IgA nephropathy patients. Moreover, crescentic glomerulonephritis, MIP-lα and MCP-1 produced in the kidney, were responsible for crescent formation and interstitial lesions, respectively. Furthermore, in diabetic nephropathy, macrophages in interstitium were positive for MCP-1 and urinary MCP-1 levels were increased.
3) IL-8 protein and mRNA were detected near necrotic areas inside tumor tissues, where oxygen content is presumed to be low. The exposure of several types of cell lines to hypoxia activated two transcription factors, NF-_kB and AP-1, and eventually induced IL-8 gene transcription. Human gastric cancer cell lines transfected with IL-8 gene exhibited faster tumor formation with enhanced angiogenesis when injected into nude mice, compared with parental cells. Moreover, most of gastric cancer cell lines expressed IL-8 receptors and IL-8 induced the expression of metastasis-related genes in some gastric cancer cell lines.
4) In hepatoma cell lines, two distinct transcription factors, PEA3 and AP-1, were constitutively activated, which resulted in constitutive IL-8 gene transcription. Among patients infected with human hepatitis C virus, serum IL-8 levels were increased in patients suffering from hepatoma, when compared with chronic hepatits and liver cirrhosis patients. Moreover, the transduction of nonstructural protein (NS) 5A of human hepatitis C virus induced IL-8 gene transcription as well as IL-8 protein secretion.
5) In cord blood, CCR1 expression among CD34-positive cells, was restricted to erythroid progenitor cells.
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