Gene expression changes induced by type IV allergy-inducible chemicals in dendritic cells

In the present study, the changes of gene expression profile in dendritic cell (DC)-derived DC2.4 cells sensitized with two allergenic chemicals were analyzed by microarray analysis to develop a basis for an in vitro assessment system of type IV allergenic chemicals. Consequently, 26 genes were significantly up-regulated, and 53 were down-regulated in both groups. Interestingly, some of upregulated genes were associated with the maturation process of DCs. A set of genes was further evaluated by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to identify the gene expression changes specifically induced by type IV allergy-inducible chemicals in DC2.4 cells, and 2 possible candidates, syndecan-1 (Sdc 1) and smoothened (SMO) genes were identified. Thus, up-regulation of Sdc1 gene and down-regulation of SMO gene in DC2.4 cells may be diagnostic markers for the screening of type IV-allergenic chemicals.