The expression profiles of extracellular matrix-related genes in the presence or absence of IL-17A or -17F as measured with the PCR array in systemic sclerosis (SSc) dermal fibroblasts

We examined the effect of IL-17 signaling pathway on extracellular matrix (ECM) expression and the involvement of IL-17 signaling pathway in pathogenesis of SSc. To identify differences in the expression pattern of ECM genes in IL-17A- or IL-17F-treated cells, we performed PCR array analysis, consisting of 84 ECM-related genes. Normal human dermal fibroblasts were cultured until they were confluent, and then stimulated with IL-17A or IL-17F for 12 hours, and total RNA was extracted. A mixture of equal amounts of mRNAs from three normal fibroblasts was prepared in the presence or absence of IL-17A or -17F, and mRNA expression profile was evaluated using PCR Array. Normal fibroblasts were obtained by skin biopsies from 3 healthy donors. Fibroblasts from donors were used and treated separately as indicated in the summary. Equal amount total RNA from each donor was pooled prior to gene expression analysis.