Abstract: Objective To investigate the mRNA expression of CC Chemokines,including RANTES (regulated upon activation,normal T cell expressed and secreted),monocyte chemoattracctant protein-1 (MCP-1),monocyte chemoattracctant protein-3 (MCP-3) and macrophage inhibitory protein 1α (MIP-1α),in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with chronic urticaria,their mutual correlation,and the relationship between the expression level of CC chemokines and the serum level of IgE and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in the patients.Methods Reverse transcription-polymerase reaction (RT-PCR) was applied to semiquantitatively analyze the mRNA expression of RANTES,MCP-1,MCP-3 and MIP-1α in PBMCs from 31 patients with chronic urticaria and 22 healthy subjects.Results The mRNA expression of RANTES,MCP-1,MCP-3 and MIP-1αwas significantly higher in the patients than those in the normal controls (P<0.001).There was a positive correlation (P<0.05) between the mRNA expression of RANTES and that of MCP-1,MCP-3 and MIP-1α in the patients;the mRNA expression of MCP-1 positively correlated (P<0.01) with that of MIP-1α,while there was no correlation between the mRNA expression of MCP-1 and MCP-3,or between that of MCP-3 and MIP-1α(P >0.05).In the patients,the mRNA expression of RANTES negatively correlated with the serum level of IgE and ECP (P<0.05).Conclusions The results suggest that the up-regulation of the mRNA expression of RANTES,MCP-1,MCP-3 and MIP-1α might play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria.

Key words: Urticaria, Chemokines,CC, Leukocytes,mononuclear