FIG. 2.

Expression of hBD1, hBD2, hBD3, and CAP18 mRNA by human keratinocytes in contact with heat-inactivated clinically isolated S. aureus cells. Total RNA was extracted from cells in contact with S. aureus for 8 h and used for RT-PCR (a) and real-time PCR (b) performed by using the methods described in Materials and Methods. (a) Lanes 1 to 5, MRSA strains; lane 6, no bacterial contact; lanes 7 to 11, MSSA strains. (b) Ratio of defensin expression in comparison to the value obtained when there was no contact with S. aureus cells. Bars 1 to 5, MRSA strains; bar 6, no bacterial contact; bars 7 to 11, MSSA strains. The results of the real-time PCR are means ± standard deviations from three independent experiments.