Objective: To analyze the types of chemokines expressed in murine medullary thymic dendritic cell line (MTDC).
Methods: A MTDC line was established. RT-PCR was used to amplify the cDNA fragments of SDF-1, IP-10, KC, MCP-1, and lymphotactin expressed by MTDC. Nucleotide sequencing and dot blotting analysis were performed to confirm their existence.
Results: Five cDNA fragments SDF-1, KC, IP-10, MCP-1, and lymphotactin, were amplified from MTDC. The existence of SDF-1, KC, and lymphotactin was confirmed by nucleotide wequencing, and that of IP-10, MCP-1, and lymphotactin was confirmed by dot blotting. The supernatant of MTDC exhibited chemoattractant activities to CD(4)(-) approximately CD(8)(-) thymocytes with a chemotactic index (CI) of 3.4.
Conclusion: There is a lot of chemokines in MTDC, including C-X-C subfamily (SDF-1, KC, and IP-10) CC subfamily (MCP-1), and C subfamily (lymphotactin). The suparnatant of MTDC has moderately chemotactic activities to CD(4)(-) approximately CD(8)(-) thymocytes, consistent with the biological function of SDF-1.