Fig. 2.

Expression of the vitamin D pathway in GEC. (A) Expression of vitamin D-related genes, i.e., those encoding VDR (lane 1) and Cyp27B1 (1-α-hydroxylase) (lane 2), in unstimulated cultures was observed by gel electrophoresis of RT-PCR products. (B) Cultures of OKF6/TERT cells were incubated for 2 h with 10⁻⁸ M 1,25(OH)₂D₃ or ethanol. Total mRNA was isolated, and relative levels of VDR and Cyp27B1 were quantified by QRT-PCR as described in the text. Results are means ± standard deviations for triplicate cultures, compared to ethanol-treated cultures, normalized to the result with β₂M. The increase in VDR mRNA levels is significant (*, P = 0.0001). The increase in Cyp27B1 mRNA levels is significant (**, P = 0.03). (C) Functionality of the hydroxylase is shown by incubation of OKF6/TERT cells with either ethanol or 10⁻⁸ M 25(OH)D₃ for 24 h and quantification of LL-37 mRNA levels as described above. The increases in LL-37 mRNA levels with 25(OH)D₃ are significant at 24 h (*, P = 0.0003) and 48 h (**, P = 0.00005) as measured by Student's t test.