Chemokine expression in CF epithelia: implications for the role of CFTR in RANTES expression

To delineate the mechanisms that facilitate leukocyte migration into the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung, expression of chemokines, including interleukin-8 (IL-8), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and RANTES, was compared between CF and non-CF airway epithelia. The findings presented herein demonstrate that, under either basal conditions or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)- and/or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-stimulated conditions, a consistent pattern of differences in the secretion of IL-8 and MCP-1 between CF and non-CF epithelial cells was not observed. In contrast, CF epithelial cells expressed no detectable RANTES protein or mRNA under basal conditions or when stimulated with TNF-alpha and/or IFN-gamma (P