FIG. 7.

Kinetics of hBD-2 mRNA up-regulation. HGE were stimulated with three activators identified in this study, 10 μg of F. nucleatum (F.n.) cell wall/ml, 10 ng of PMA/ml, and 80 ng of TNF-α/ml for hBD-2 induction for the indicated times. RT-PCR analysis for 25 cycles was performed using total RNA (3 μg). The results show an early hBD-2 induction by F. nucleatum cell wall and TNF-α but a much later induction by PMA. Note that TNF-α mRNA was transiently induced before hBD-2 induction by all three stimulants. The results shown are representative of two independent experiments. −RT, minus-RT control.