scholarly journals Delayed Expulsion of the Nematode Trichinella spiralisIn Mice Lacking the Mucosal Mast Cell–Specific Granule Chymase, Mouse Mast Cell Protease-1

2000 ◽  
Vol 192 (12) ◽  
pp. 1849-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela A. Knight ◽  
Steven H. Wright ◽  
Catherine E. Lawrence ◽  
Yvonne Y.W. Paterson ◽  
Hugh R.P. Miller

Expulsion of gastrointestinal nematodes is associated with pronounced mucosal mast cell (MMC) hyperplasia, differentiation, and activation, accompanied by the systemic release of MMC granule chymases (chymotrypsin-like serine proteases). The β-chymase mouse mast cell protease-1 (mMCP-1) is expressed predominantly by intraepithelial MMCs, and levels in the bloodstream and intestinal lumen are maximal at the time of worm expulsion in parasitized mice. To address the in vivo functions of MMC-specific β-chymases, we have generated transgenic mice that lack the mMCP-1 gene. They were backcrossed onto a congenic BALB/c background to investigate the response to nematode infection. The deletion of the mMCP-1 gene is associated with significantly delayed expulsion of Trichinella spiralis and increased deposition of muscle larvae in BALB/c mice despite the presence of normal and sometimes increased numbers of MMCs. Neither worm fecundity nor worm burdens were altered in Nippostrongylus-infected mMCP-1−/− BALB/c mice. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that the ablation of an MMC-derived effector molecule compromises the expulsion process.

2000 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 4968-4971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis N. Onah ◽  
Fukumi Uchiyama ◽  
Yuuko Nagakui ◽  
Masao Ono ◽  
Toshiyuki Takai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A possible role for the γ subunit of immunoglobulin Fc receptors (FcR) in mucosal defenses against intestinal nematode parasites was studied using age-matched FcRγ-knockout (FcRγ−/−) and wild-type (FcRγ+/+) C57BL/6 mice. Mice were infected subcutaneously with 3,000 infective larvae of Strongyloides venezuelensis, and the degree of infection was monitored by daily fecal egg counts and adult worm recovery on days 8 and 13 postinfection. Mucosal mast cell (MMC) responses were assayed by in situ intestinal mast cell counts in stained histological sections of the jejunum and by measuring mouse mast cell protease 1 (MMCP-1) release in serum using sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. FcRγ−/− mice had significantly higher egg counts (P < 0.01) and numbers of adult worms (P < 0.05) than FcRγ+/+mice, but mastocytosis and serum MMCP-1 release were comparable. It was concluded that MMCP-1 release may be spontaneous, does not depend on mast cell degranulation via the FcRγ signaling system, and appears to play no role in the expulsion of S. venezuelensis. The delay in worm expulsion in the FcRγ−/− mice might be related to inability of the MMC to degranulate and release effector molecules other than MMCP-1, since FcRγ deletion abrogates mast cell degranulative responses.


1993 ◽  
Vol 294 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
G F J Newlands ◽  
D P Knox ◽  
S R Pirie-Shepherd ◽  
H R P Miller

Five highly soluble, chymotrypsin-like, neutral serine proteases, with molecular masses in the range 30-33 kDa, were isolated from Trichinella spiralis-infected mouse small intestine. These enzymes were closely related antigenically on Western blotting and by Ouchterlony double diffusion using a polyclonal, cross-absorbed, sheep antibody raised against mouse mast cell protease-1 (MMCP-1) and on the basis of N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis, were identified as variant forms of MMCP-1. Substrate and inhibitor analysis confirmed that the five variants (MMCP-1 A-E) had similar characteristics, although highly significant (P = 0.025 to P < 0.0001) variations in Km and kcat, were detected. Against human alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor the Ki for MMCP-1C (45 pM) was significantly (P < 0.0001) greater than those for the other proteases (0.76-2.2 pM). The differences in electrophoretic mobility are probably a result of variable glycosylation, since removal of N-linked carbohydrate produced a polypeptide of approx. 28 kDa in each case which was, like the native enzyme, immunoreactive on Western blotting. A much less soluble 28 kDa enzyme was isolated from serosal mast cells and identified as MMCP-4 by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. Like MMCP-1 it has chymotrypsin-like substrate specificities with activity at neutral pH. However, it was antigenically distinct from MMCP-1 and, using sheep anti-MMCP-1, was not detected on Western blotting or by Ouchterlony double diffusion, e.l.i.s.a. or immunohistochemistry. This last technique established that the MMCP-1 variants were uniquely present in enteric mast cells, thereby providing a highly selective means of distinguishing the mucosal and connective tissue mast cell subsets in the mouse.


2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Brown ◽  
P. A. Knight ◽  
S. H. Wright ◽  
E. M. Thornton ◽  
H. R. P. Miller

2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (1) ◽  
pp. G178-G191 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. De Jonge ◽  
A. De Laet ◽  
L. Van Nassauw ◽  
J. K. Brown ◽  
H. R. P. Miller ◽  
...  

Upregulation of CGRP-immunoreactive (IR) primary afferent nerve fibers accompanied by mastocytosis is characteristic for the Schistosoma mansoni-infected murine ileum. These mucosal mast cells (MMC) and CGRP-IR fibers, which originate from dorsal root (DRG) and nodose ganglia, are found in close apposition. We examined interactions between primary cultured MMC and CGRP-IR DRG neurons in vitro by confocal recording of intracellular Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]i). The degranulatory EC50for the mast cell secretagogue compound 48/80 (C48/80; 10 μg/ml) and the neuropeptides CGRP (2.10−8M) and substance P (SP; 3.10−8M) were determined by measurement of extracellular release of the granule chymase, mouse mast cell protease-1. Application of C48/80 (10 μg/ml) and CGRP and SP (both 10−7M) to Fluo-4-loaded MMC induced a transient rise in [Ca2+]iafter a lag time, indicative of mast cell degranulation and/or secretion. The CGRP response could be completely blocked by pertussis toxin (2 μg/ml), indicating involvement of Giproteins. Application of MMC juice, obtained by C48/80 degranulation of MMC, to Fluo-4-loaded DRG neurons induced in all neurons a rise in [Ca2+]i, indicative of activation. Degranulation of MMC by C48/80 in culture dishes containing Fluo-4-loaded DRG neurons also caused activation of the DRG neurons. In conclusion, these results demonstrate a bidirectional cross-talk between cultured MMC and CGRP-IR DRG neurons in vitro. This indicates that such a communication may be the functional relevance for the close apposition between MMC and CGRP-IR nerve fibers in vivo.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (7) ◽  
pp. 2655-2660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne L. Pennock ◽  
Richard K. Grencis

Abstract We have used the parasite helminth Trichinella spiralis to study the generation and differentiation of mast cell progenitors in the bone marrow of mice, as this infection triggers an intestinal mastocytosis which correlates with parasite expulsion. C-kit+ mast cell progenitors have previously been defined by methylcellulose colony-forming units and by limiting dilution assays in vitro. In vivo experiments have demonstrated the essential requirement by mast cells for specific integrin expression. We have defined 2 c-kit+ populations in the bone marrow, one of which coexpresses CD49d/β7 integrin, a marker essential for small intestine immigration. We have confirmed the phenotype of these cells by using antagonistic anti-c-kit antibody in vivo. Our data show that the loss of c-kit+/β7+ cells from the bone marrow correlates with their appearance in the blood and precedes detection of mature mast cells in the gut by 3 days. This exit correlates with an increase in soluble stem cell factor (SCF) in the serum, suggesting that the c-kit/SCF interaction may be chemotactic or haptotactic in nature. This study shows that during infection the bone marrow environment generates mast cells destined for the intestinal mucosa before their exit into the periphery, indicating a clear interplay between infection site and hematopoietic tissue. (Blood. 2004;103:2655-2660)


1994 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
K K Eklund ◽  
N Ghildyal ◽  
K F Austen ◽  
D S Friend ◽  
V Schiller ◽  
...  

The ear, skin, and purified serosal mast cells of WBB6F1/J-(+/+) (WB-(+/+)) and WCB6F1/J-(+/+) (WC-(+/+)) mice contain high steady-state levels of the transcripts that encode mouse mast cell protease (mMCP) 2, mMCP-4, mMCP-5, mMCP-6, and mouse mast cell carboxypeptidase A (mMC-CPA). In contrast, no mast cell protease transcripts are present in abundance in the ear and skin of WBB6F1/J-W/Wv (W/Wv) and WCB6F1/J-Sl/Sld (Sl/Sld) mice which are mast cell-deficient in vivo due to defects in their c-kit and c-kit ligand genes, respectively. We now report that the immature bone marrow-derived mast cells (mBMMC) obtained in vitro with recombinant interleukin 3 (rIL-3) or WEHI-3 cell conditioned medium from WB-(+/+), WC-(+/+), W/Wv, and Sl/Sld mice all contain high steady-state levels of the mMCP-2, mMCP-4, mMCP-5, mMCP-6, and mMC-CPA transcripts. As assessed immunohistochemically, mMCP-2 protein and mMCP-5 protein are also present in the granules of mBMMC from WB-(+/+), WC-(+/+), and W/Wv mice. That Sl/Sld and W/Wv mBMMC contain high steady-state levels of five granule protease transcripts expressed by the mature serosal, ear, and skin mast cells of their normal +/+ littermates suggests that c-kit-mediated signal transduction is not essential for inducing transcription of these protease genes. Because rIL-4 inhibits the rIL-10-induced expression of mMCP-1 and mMCP-2 in BALB/cJ mBMMC, the ability of rIL-4 to influence protease mRNA levels in WC-(+/+) mBMMC and W/Wv mBMMC was investigated. Although rIL-10 induced expression of the mMCP-1 transcript in WC-(+/+) and W/Wv mBMMC, rIL-4 was not able to suppress the steady-state levels of the mMCP-1 transcript or any other protease transcript in these cultured mast cells. Thus, not only do BALB/cJ mBMMC express fewer granule proteases than mBMMC from mast cell-deficient strains and their normal littermates but the subsequent induction of late-expressed proteases in BALB/cJ mBMMC is more tightly regulated by IL-3 and IL-4.


1998 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Wastling ◽  
Pamela Knight ◽  
Jan Ure ◽  
Steven Wright ◽  
Elisabeth M. Thornton ◽  
...  

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