Human β-definsin-2(hBD-2)is mainly induced by bacterial factors and pro-inflammation mediators in epithelial cells.As the major cause of community-acquired pneumonia,whether Streptococcus pneumoniae(S.pneumoniae)stimulation induces hBD-2 expression in airway epithelial cells is elusive.In this study,we found that S.pneumoniae stimulation induced hBD-2 expression in a time-and concentration-dependent manner in primary human airway epithelial cells.To further reveal the mechanism of S.pneumoniae inducing hBD-2,we found that S.pneumoniae stimulation activated NF-jB signaling pathway.Specific NF-jB inhibitor,PDTC,could reverse the induction of hBD-2 by S.pneumoniae.We also found that cellular inner Ca2+ signaling is involved in the S.pneumoniae-induced hBD-2.Taken together,our findings indicated that S.pneumoniae can stimulate the expression of hBD-2 in airway epithelial cells and NF-jB and inositol triphosphate-dependent intracellular calcium release is involved in this induction.
