The scavenger receptor, cysteine‐rich domain‐containing molecule gp‐340 is differentially regulated in epithelial cell lines by phorbol ester

Summary Gp‐340 is a glycoprotein belonging to the scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR) group B family. It binds to host immune components such as lung surfactant protein D (SP‐D). Recent studies found that gp‐340 interacts directly with pathogenic microorganisms and induces their aggregation, suggesting its involvement in innate immunity. In order to investigate further its potential immune functions in the appropriate cell lines, the expression of gp‐340 in four conventional immune cell lines (U937, HL60, Jurkat, Raji), and two innate immune‐related epithelial cell lines (A549 derived from lung and AGS from stomach), was examined by RT‐PCR and immunohistochemistry. The resting immune cell lines showed weak or no gp‐340 mRNA expression; while the two epithelial cell lines expressed gp‐340 at much higher level, which was differentially regulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) treatment. In the A549 cells, gp‐340 was up‐regulated along with the PMA‐induced proinflammatory expression of both IL‐6 and IL‐8. In AGS cells, PMA down‐regulation of gp‐340 was seen in parallel with an up‐regulation of the two mature gastric epithelial specific proteins TFF1 (trefoil factor 1) and TFF2, which are implicated as markers of terminal differentiation. Analysis of the distribution of gp‐340, together with the TFFs and SP‐D in normal lung and gastric mucosa, supported further our in vitro data. We conclude that the differential regulation of gp‐340 in the two epithelial cell lines by PMA indicates that gp‐340 s involvement in mucosal defence and growth of epithelial cells may vary at different body locations and during different stages of epithelial differentiation.