Aim: To investigate the effect of alcohol and/or IL-13 on the expression of collagen type I alpha 1 chain gene (COL1A1, COL3A1) mRNA and collagen production of human lung fibroblast(HFL-1).
Methods: HFL-1 was cultured and real time RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of IL-13 receptor (IL-13Rα1, IL-13Rα2, IL-4Rα) mRNA, COL1A1 mRNA and COL3A1 mRNA. ELISA was used to determine the production of collagen type I.
Results: Low level of Alcohol (25, 50, 100, 200 mmol/L) greatly up-regulated the expression of IL-13Rα1 mRNA and IL-4Rα mRNA of HFL-1, but IL-13Rα2 mRNA expression was decreased. low level of alcohol (25, 50, 100, 200 mmol/L) had no effect on the expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1. IL-13 (10, 20, 50 μg/L) stimulated the expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1 in a dose-dependent manner. The expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1 induced by combination of alcohol (200 mmol/L) and IL-13(10 μg/L, 20 μg/L, 50 μg/L) was significantly higher than IL-13(10, 20, 50 μg/L) alone. Combination of alcohol (200 mmol/L) and IL-13(10, 20, 50 μg/L) could significantly increase collagen typeI production than IL-13(10, 20, 50 μg/L) alone.
Conclusion: Low level of alcohol has no effect on the mRNA expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1 of HFL-1cells, but has great effect on the mRNA expression of IL-13Rα1, IL-13Rα2 and IL-4Rα. Combination of alcohol and IL-13 significantly up-regulated the collagen production and expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1 of HFL-1 cells.