Human β-defensin-2 and IL-6 secretions by gingival epithelial cells were maintained over multiple cell passages following exposure to cigarette smoke.

<p>Confluent (80%) gingival epithelial cell cultures were exposed to whole cigarette smoke for 15 min or left untreated, followed by culture for 24 h, after which supernatants were collected and used to determine the levels of HBD2 or IL-6 by ELISA. Data are expressed as the means+SD (n = 5).