Analysis of the effect of inhibiting p38/MAPK in P. gingivalis-induced MIP-3α/CCL20 gene expression using real-time PCR. MIP-3α/CCL20 gene expression was analyzed using real-time PCR. (A) GECs (OKF6/TERT-2) pre-incubated with the pharmacological inhibitor for p38/MAPK showed a dose-dependent decrease in MIP-3α/CCL20 gene expression when exposed to P. gingivalis (1 μM, 3 μM, and 9 μM; *P=0.029, **P=0.007, and ***P=0.009, respectively). (B) The same conditions as in (A) was performed on primary GECs. The p38/MAPK inhibitor blocked the P. gingivalis-induced MIP-3α/CCL20 gene expression (*P=0.023). Controls, using the inhibitor without subsequent bacterial stimulation showed no effect on the MIP-3α/CCL20 gene expression. Triplicate experiments were performed on OKF6/TERT-2 and primary GECs from three different donors. *Significant difference (P<0.05). Error bars indicate SD values.