Establishment of a cell-based assay for examining the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene.
Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by activated macrophages and lymphocytes and involved in many inflammatory diseases. Preventing the production or action of TNF-alpha is a potent therapeutic strategy for these inflammatory diseases. Since there is a lack of rapid and effective assay for examining the expression TNF-alpha in macrophages, we attempt to establish a reporter system to assess TNF-alpha gene expression through measuring luciferase activity. In this study, mouse macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 was stably transfected with a luciferase reporter pGL3-TNFPro-UTR, which contains TNF-alpha promoter and 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR). The TNF-alpha-luciferase reporter cell line is used for assessing the expression of TNF-alpha gene induced by LPS in the presence or absence of chemicals that inhibit the biosynthesis of TNF-alpha such as dexamethasone and emodin, and also for measuring change of expression of TNF-alpha gene under downregulation of the expression of steroid receptor coactivator-3, a modulator for TNF-alpha. The luciferase activity correlated well with the ELISA results for TNF-alpha production, therefore, the TNF-alpha-luciferase reporter cell line is a sensitive, effective tool for studying the expression of TNF-alpha gene.
Chen
Qiang
Q
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Cell Biology and Tumor Cell Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, China.
Zhao
Yang
Y
Cheng
Zhuo
Z
Xu
Yixiang
Y
Yu
Chundong
C
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015870:Gene Expression; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D008156:Luciferases