Objective: To investigate the gene expression pattern of human keratinocytes (KCs) after arotinoid trometamol (AT) treatment.
Methods: Human keratinocytes (KCs) of the line HaCat were cultured. AT (10(-6) mol/L) was added in the culture fluid for 24 h. A gene chip containing 4000 cDNA clones was used to identify the differentially expressed genes in the HaCat cells, and then the results were verified by real-time PCR.
Results: Gene chip hybridization showed that 580 of the 4000 full-length human cDNA exhibited differential expression (>or= 2-fold); 253 genes with complete annotation were identified, including 143 genes up-regulated and 110 genes down-regulated. The differentially expressed genes mainly participated into the processes of cell cycle and immunology.
Conclusion: Microarry technology helps study the third generation of retinoid acid induced gene expression pattern in human KCs in a high through-put way. AT can be used to treat psoriasis by regulating some processes, such as the cell cycle, inflammation, etc.