Gene expression analysis of macrophages from ankylosing spondylitis patients reveals interferon-gamma dysregulation

Macrophages were derived from the peripheral blood of 8 AS patients (median disease duration 13 years [range <1–43 years]) and 9 healthy control subjects over 7 days with the use of granulocyte– macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Cells were stimulated for 24 hours with interferon- (IFN; 100 units/ ml), were left untreated for 24 hours, or were treated for 3 hours with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 ng/ml). RNA was isolated and examined by microarray and real-time quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis.