Upregulation of Phagocytic Clearance of Apoptotic Cells by Autoimmune Regulator

摘要

To investigate the effect of autoimmune regulator(AIRE) on phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells,a recombinant expression vector containing full-length human AIRE cDNA was transfected into 16HBE cells.After incubation with transfected 16HBE cells,engulfment of apoptotic HL-60 cells induced by camptothecin was detected by myeloperoxidase(MPO) staining.The change in the expression of Rac 1 in transfected 16HBE cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting.The results showed that the phagocytosis percentage of the experimental group,the mock transfection group and the negative control group(non-apoptotic cells) was(25.50±3.67)%,(6.25±1.58)% and(1.0±0.67)%,respectively.Moreover,the expressions of Rac 1 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in AIRE-transfected 16HBE cells,suggesting that AIRE may function as a regulator in the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells by promoting the expression of Rac 1.