Development of Quantitative RT-PCR Tests for the Expression of Cytokine Genes on the LightCycler

Abstract

Cytokines and chemokines are a major focus in biomedical research because of their numerous functions and disease associations. Direct evaluation of these mediators as proteins by enzyme immunoassay, immunohistochemistry or flow cytometry requires specific antibodies and assay sensitivity is variable. Since cytokine gene expression (mRNA) is usually quantitatively correlated to the level of produced protein, RT-PCR is widely used as an alternative method to describe cytokine profiles. Quantification of mRNA does not require the accumulation of measurable amounts of protein and hence is a more sensitive and dynamic monitor of gene expression.