Chemokine gene expression in human oral mucosa

In order to gain further understanding of the role of chemokines in healthy oral mucosa, we analyzed mRNA expression of the alpha (CXC)-family chemokines IL-8 and GROgamma as well as of the beta (CC)-family chemokines MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and MCP-1 in twenty young and healthy subjects with good oral hygiene. Twenty biopsies were taken from clinically healthy oral mucosa before surgical removal of impacted wisdom teeth. In addition, five biopsies from patients presenting with specific oral lesions were studied. RNA was purified, quantitated and utilized as substrate for competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In healthy tissue, IL-8 and MCP-1 mRNA was constitutively expressed in all biopsies, whereas GROgamma, MIP-1alpha, and MIP-1beta were significantly lower. These findings suggest that IL8 and MCP-1 play a significant role in oral tissue homeostasis. The few samples from pathological conditions encourage exploring diseased tissue in more detail.