Gene expression analysis of macrophages derived from ankylosing spondylitis patients reveals interferon-gamma dysregulation.

Objective: To determine whether macrophages, a type of cell implicated in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), exhibit a characteristic gene expression pattern.

Methods: Macrophages were derived from the peripheral blood of 8 AS patients (median disease duration 13 years [range <1-43 years]) and 9 healthy control subjects over 7 days with the use of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Cells were stimulated for 24 hours with interferon-gamma (IFN gamma; 100 units/ml), were left untreated for 24 hours, or were treated for 3 hours with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 ng/ml).

Nuclear factor I/thyroid transcription factor 1 interactions modulate surfactant protein C transcription.

Surfactant protein C (SP-C; Sftpc) gene expression is restricted to pulmonary type II epithelial cells. The proximal SP-C promoter region contains critical binding sites for nuclear factor I (NFI) and thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1; also called Nkx2.1).