Cytokines have been established as
biomarkers to detect exposure of
cells to
chemical warfare agents such as
sulfur mustard (2,2'-
dichlorodiethyl sulfide , HD). In this study cultured normal and SV40 immortalized
human epidermal
keratinocyte (NHEK/IHEK)
cells were compared as potential model systems to
measure the
efficacy of
therapeutic drugs against HD. Immortalized
human epidermal
keratinocytes resemble their primary
cell counterparts but have the advantage of being carried through long-term
culture . Immortalized
cells also provide consistency and durability and are less costly than primary
keratinocytes .
Immunoassay studies were performed to examine the response of these two
cell lines to HD. We found that both normal and immortalized NHEKs secreted the pro-inflammatory mediator
interleukin-8 (
IL-8 ) when exposed to HD. However, a major difference was observed between the NHEK
cell line 6207 and IHEK
cell line 425. IHEK
cell line 425 produced higher levels of Interleuken-8 then those of its normal counterpart
cell line 6207. This
observation is significant since
therapeutic drugs such as
ibuprofen , which depress
cytokine production , may not allow these
biomarkers to be detected efficiently in experimental
analysis of certain NHEK
cell lines . The fact that
Il-8 production higher in
cell line 425
cell makes this
in vitro model a potential
screening tool to study the
efficacy of
drugs that suppress
production of
cytokine markers.