Abstract
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is induced by various stimuli such as
wounds and infection and regulates inflammatory and immunological responses. To date,
we have found increased expression of MIF during the wound healing process in rat
skin. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated enhanced expression of MIF in wound
skin lesions. On the other hand, α-thrombin, a multifunctional serine protease, plays
an important role in wound healing with regard to induction of inflammatory cytokines
such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). Accordingly, we examined the effect of α-thrombin on
MIF production in human skin fibroblasts. α-Thrombin significantly stimulated MIF
secretion into culture medium of fibroblasts quantitated by an enzymelinked immunosorbent
assay (ELISA). Consistent with this, we observed the upregulation of MIF mRNA in response
to α-thrombin by Northern blot analysis. Taken together, these results suggest that
MIF produced by fibroblasts in response to α-thrombin plays an important regulatory
role in wound repair.
Keywords:
Fibroblasts - macrophage migration inhibitory factor - skin - thrombin - wound repair
