Mast cells might play a role in the pathogenesis of scleroderma due to their ability to participate in the inflammatory response. These cells are known for their ability to adhere and interact with fibroblasts. The latter are supposed to support survival of tissue mast cells by producing a cytokine called stem cell factor (SCF). The aim of our study was to investigate the expression of SCF in both scleroderma and normal skin fibroblasts. Confluent fibroblast cultures were used in this study. The RT-PCR system kit was used for expression analysis of SCF mRNA. The image analysis system was used to analyse the relative optical density of the RT-PCR product (bands). In both scleroderma and normal skin fibroblasts we detected transcripts of the SCF gene. Our experiments were unable to find differences in the expression of this cytokine in the above cell population. This preliminary observation seems to be quite promissing but a further detailed and more extensive study - which is underway -is required.

Keywords: Stem Cell Factor, scleroderma