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Analysis of Gene Expression Patterns in Systemic Sclerosis Fibroblasts Using RNA Arbitrarily Primed-Polymerase Chain Reaction for Differential Display
ROTRAUD MEYRINGER, ELENA NEUMANN, MARTIN JUDEX, MICHAEL LANDTHALER, FRANK KULLMANN, JÜRGEN SCHÖLMERICH, STEFFEN GAY, INGO H. TARNER, OLIVER DISTLER, and ULF MÜLLER-LADNER ABSTRACT. Objective. To identify genes that are differentially expressed in systemic sclerosis (SSc) fibroblasts of clinically involved and noninvolved skin compared to normal dermal fibroblasts, using RNA arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction (RAP-PCR) for differential display. Methods. We examined 12 fibroblast cultures derived from clinically involved skin, 3 fibroblast cultures from noninvolved skin, and 4 fibroblast cultures from healthy skin. After extraction of total RNA, the first step of RAP-PCR was performed using different arbitrary 10–12-base primers for first-strand cDNA synthesis. Second-strand synthesis was achieved by cycling using different arbitrary 10-base primers, followed by sequence analysis of the amplified fingerprint products. The resulting sequences were aligned to the GenBank® database using Blast® Search. Confirmation of differential expression was performed with specific primers using real-time PCR. Results. Using 8 different primer combinations, in total 48 cDNA were differentially expressed between SSc and healthy dermal fibroblasts. Sequence analysis identified distinct PCR products, which were overexpressed in SSc as highly homologous to gene segments of gremlin protein, lysyl oxidase, c-cbl proto-oncogene, an estrogen-responsive element, fibronectin, and collagen type XIIa1 precursor. Conclusion. Our results show that RAP-PCR is a suitable method to identify differentially expressed genes in SSc fibroblasts. Further, we identified genes that have not yet been described in the pathophysiology of SSc and that may be involved in matrix synthesis and cellular interaction. (J Rheumatol 2007;34:747–53) Key Indexing Terms:
SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS From the Department of Internal Medicine I and Department of Dermatology, University of Regensburg; Department of Rheumatology, Asklepios Clinic Bad Abbach; Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Kerckhoff Clinic Bad Nauheim/University of Giessen; Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, München, Germany; and Center for Experimental Rheumatology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. Supported by grants of the German Scleroderma Foundation and the German Research Society (DFG, Mu 1383/1-3 and Ku 1024/6-3). R. Meyringer, MD, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Regensburg and Department of Rheumatology, Asklepios Clinic Bad Abbach; E. Neumann, PhD; I.H. Tarner, MD; U. Müller-Ladner, MD, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Kerckhoff Clinic Bad Nauheim/University of Giessen; M. Judex, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Regensburg and Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry; M. Landthaler, MD, Department of Dermatology, University of Regensburg; F. Kullmann, MD; J. Schölmerich, MD, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Regensburg; S. Gay, MD; O. Distler, MD, Center for Experimental Rheumatology, University of Zurich. Address reprint requests to Dr. U. Müller-Ladner, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Giessen and Kerckhoff Clinic Bad Nauheim, Benekestrasse 2-8, D-61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany. E-mail: u.mueller-ladner@kerckhoff-klinik.de Accepted for publication December 13, 2006.
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