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. 2009 Apr 28;4(4):e5354. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005354

Figure 5. Wnt5a induces type 1 IFN target genes and causes IFN hypersensitivity.

Figure 5

(a) HaCat keratinocytes were transfected with full length Wnt5a cDNA or control vector (pCDNA6.1). 12 h after transfection, the expression of nedd8, MX1, IFI-27, and APP was determined by RT-PCR, as described in Methods. The expression of Wnt5a was also determined to verify overexpression. (b) HaCat keratinocytes transfected with full-length Wnt5a cDNA (open symbols) or control vector (closed symbols) and stimulated with the indicated concentrations of IFNα for 18 h. The expression of IFI27 was then assessed using RT-PCR and quantified densitometrically. The data shown represent mean±s.d. of two independent experiments. (c) Keratinocytes from non-lesional psoriatic skin with elevated endogenous Wnt5a levels or from healthy control skin were expanded in vitro for 14 days and stimulated for 18 h with 20 ng/ml IFNα. Global gene expression was determined using the piquor skin-patho microarray. Plotted are the –fold change (IFNα vs. basal expression) of all genes (41 of 1133) exhibiting a ≥2-fold induction by IFNα. The mean fold-changes of cells from n = 3 controls are plotted along the x-axis, the mean fold-change of cells from n = 4 cells are plotted along the y-axis. Dots represent mean values, horizontal lines represent s.d. among the controls, vertical lines represent s.d. among cells from psoriasis patients. The dashed line marks the theoretical equal magnitude of gene induction.