FIG. 4.

hBD-1 is expressed in cultured HGE cells and not HGFs. No hBD-1 expression was detected in control (cont.) HGF cells and cells stimulated with 100-μg/ml F. nucleatum (F.n.) or P. gingivalis (P.g.) cell wall extract overnight (HGFs from passage 22). Unlike HGFs, both control and stimulated cultured HGE cells constitutively expressed hBD-1 mRNA. PCR amplification was done for 35 cycles to enhance the detection of a small signal in the HGFs. A housekeeping gene (RPO) served as a positive control for RT-PCR and RNA quality in samples. Similar results were obtained when primary HGFs were either left unstimulated or stimulated with E. coli LPS and TNF-α and then tested for hBD-1 expression.