Oral keratinocytes synthesize CTACK: a new insight into the pathophysiology of the oral mucosa

Abstract

The skin-associated chemokine CTACK plays a key role in many inflammatory conditions and could be instrumental in the pathophysiology of tissue-specific immunological diseases such as oral lichen planus (OLP). In the present study, we investigated by RT-PCR, ELISA, chemotaxis assays, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) the production of CTACK in oral keratinocytes, its expression in tissues from normal and OLP patients, and its role in T cell recruitment. CTACK was produced by the oral epithelium and it affects chemotaxis of memory CLA+ cells to the oral epithelium. CTACK mRNA was expressed constitutively in primary oral epithelium and was increased during pro-inflammatory IFN-γ treatment. We found a constitutive production of CTACK at a protein level in oral primary cells that increased after IFN-γ treatment. Moreover, we confirmed that CTACK attracts memory T cells and those T cells that express CLA above the level of basal migration.

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