Abstract:

Objective To investigate the influences of lysozyme on the mRNA expressions of MMP-1, -12 and lysyl oxidase （LOX） in cultured fibroblasts in vitro. Methods Primarily cultured fibroblasts isolated from human skin were treated with three concentrations （0, 1 × 10-8, 1 × 10-7 mol/L） of lysozyme followed by another 24-hour culture. Subsequently, total RNA was extracted from the fibroblasts and subjected to RT-PCR for the detection of MMP-1, -12 and LOX mRNA. Results There was a significant difference in the mRNA expressions of MMP-1, -12 and LOX among the fibroblasts treated with the three concentrations of lysozyme （F = 6.98, 4.44, 5.24, respectively, all P < 0.05）. SNK-q test showed that untreated fibroblasts differed significantly from those treated with lysozyme of 1 × 10-7 mol/L in the mRNA expression of MMP-1 and MMP-12 （P < 0.05）, and from those treated with lysozyme of 1 × 10-7 mol/L and 1 × 10-8 mol/L in the mRNA expression of LOX （both P < 0.05）, whereas no significant difference was observed between fibroblasts treated with lysozyme of 1 × 10-8 mol/L and untreated fibroblasts or those with lysozyme of 1 × 10-7 mol/L in the mRNA expression of MMP-1 and MMP-12, or between fibroblasts treated with lysozyme of 1 × 10-8 mol/L and those with that of 1 × 10-7 mol/L in the expression of LOX （all P > 0.05）. Conclusions Lysozyme upregulates the mRNA expression of MMP-1 and MMP-12 but downregulates the mRNA expression of LOX in cultured fibro-blasts in vitro.