Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mast cells are the principal initial effector cells in the modulation of allergic inflammation. They are now known to arise from CD34+ pluripotential stem cells, circulate through the blood as CD34+, Fc epsilon RI-, Kit+ committed but undifferentiated cells, and migrate into tissues where they mature in the presence of Kit-ligand (stem cell factor) and other locally produced cytokines. Mast cells undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis) when stem cell factor is not available. Mast cells adhere to specific connective tissue components such as fibronectin and laminin. This interaction localizes mast cells to specific sites while altering their biologic responsiveness. Mast cells, when activated through Fc epsilon RI, release and generate a wide variety of cytokines including IL-4 and IL-5. This information provides new insights on how allergic reactions may be modified by developing strategies to effect mast cell viability, survival and localization; and the production of inflammatory mediators.
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PMID:Contemporary issues in mast cell biology. 893 94

Airway epithelial cells modulate the inflammatory response in asthmatic, allergic and fibrotic lung diseases through the secretion of cytokines that regulate the movement and activation of inflammatory cells. Mast cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of these lung diseases. In this study we report that normal airway epithelial cells express stem cell factor which is a critical mediator of mast cell growth and differentiation and that transforming growth factor-beta inhibits secretion of stem cell factor by airway epithelial cells.
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PMID:Airway epithelial cells produce stem cell factor. 898 73

IgE-mediated Type-I allergic reactions at nematode-infected mucosal surfaces are considered to have a direct protective function. The contribution of mucosal mast cells (MMC) to these mucosal allergic responses is reviewed. In addition to the T helper 2 cell-mediated regulation of MMC hyperplasia during nematode infection the kit ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), plays a key role in the early development of the MMC response. Studies in the mouse suggest that MMC protect against certain nematodes which enter the mucosa but not against lumen dwelling nematodes. The protective roles of MMC in other species, including sheep, are less certain and there is some evidence that MMC might enhance parasite fecundity. The measurement of MMC-specific granule chymases released systemically, and into the gut lumen, permits precise monitoring of mast cell activation and suggests that the secreted chymases may target epithelial junctional complex proteins, thereby causing increased mucosal permeability. The abundant intraepithelial MMC found in parasitised mucosa may, therefore, serve as epithelial gatekeepers permitting the translocation of plasma proteins onto the mucosal surface.
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PMID:Mucosal mast cells and the allergic response against nematode parasites. 898 78

We previously showed that interleukin-3 (IL-3) alone is not sufficient, although it is essential for murine mucosal-type mast cell development and that prostaglandin E (PGE) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) are critical for survival or differentiation of mast cell precursors. We also confirmed that IL-4 is a key inhibitor for mast cell precursors despite being a growth factor of mast cells. In the present work, mouse spleen cells were cultured with recombinant (r) IL-1 beta, rIL-5, rIL-6, rIL-9, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), stem cell factor (SCF), tumor transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the presence of endogenous IL-3. After 12 days of culture, mast cell development was induced by rIL-6 and rTNF-alpha, rIL-1 beta, rIL-5, rGM-CSF, rTGF-beta and even the mast cell growth factors, rIL-9 and rSCF, failed to induce mast cell development. However, unlike IL-9 and SCF, IL-6 and TNF-alpha did not promote the growth of mast cells already developed. Macrophage may be one of the responsive cells of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in the cultures, because removal of macrophages greatly reduced the mast cell development induced by the cytokines. The actions of TNF-alpha and IL-6 were inhibited by indomethacin, an inhibitor for prostaglandin synthesis, and by neutralizing anti-IFN-gamma and anti-IL-3 antibodies. rIL-4, when added at the start of the culture, also inhibited mast cell development induced by rIL-6 and rTNF-alpha. Nevertheless, neutralizing anti-IL-6 and anti-TNF-alpha antibodies did not suppress mast cell development induced by PGE and IFN-gamma. TNF-alpha and IL-6 enhanced IFN-gamma production, but suppressed IL-4 production in the cultures. Mast cell numbers induced were inversely and directly proportional to IL-4 and IFN-gamma levels, respectively. These results indicate that inflammatory mediators as triggers are important for mast cell development although they are not the mast cell growth factors.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha- and interleukin-6-triggered mast cell development from mouse spleen cells. 900 55

Stem cell factor receptor (SCFR, c-kit), normally expressed on haematopoietic and mast cells, plays a regulatory role in cellular growth and differentiation. Dysregulated expression of SCFR may contribute to neoplastic transformation. We investigated expression of SCFR on malignant canine mast cells obtained directly from spontaneous canine mast cell neoplasms, in an attempt to determine whether these undifferentiated cells maintained expression of this growth-promoting cytokine receptor. Malignant mast cells (histological grade 2) from skin tumours or lymph node metastases were collected from canine patients, and SCFRs were detected by flow cytometric analysis of these cells. All of the tumours bound mouse and canine recombinant stem cell factor (SCF), indicating that the cells not only expressed SCFRs, but that the receptors possessed the functional property of ligand binding. Immunoglobulin Fc receptors for canine IgE were identified on these cells by flow cytometry, a further indication that the cells analysed were mast cells and retained some differentiated features. Immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed, paraffin wax-embedded mast cell tumour biopsies confirmed expression of SCFRs by malignant cells from each tumour. The relative binding of SCF to suspensions of tumour cells, as assessed by flow cytometry, correlated with the intensity of immunolabelling for SCFR in sections of the same tumours, suggesting variability in SCFR expression between tumours. Agarose gel electrophoresis of the products of SCFR reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction derived from each tumour had the molecular weight predicted for canine SCFR cDNA on the basis of the mouse and human counterparts. This further confirmed SCFR expression by malignant canine mast cells. Taken together, these results show that a membrane receptor capable of triggering cell growth is expressed by malignant canine mast cells, suggesting a role for this receptor in the aetiology of canine mast cell cancer. This relatively common malignancy of the dog would seem to present an opportunity for the investigation of the potential role of the SCF/SCFR pathway in the development of spontaneous malignancies of mast cells.
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PMID:Expression of stem cell factor receptor (c-kit) by the malignant mast cells from spontaneous canine mast cell tumours. 900 81

The urokinase receptor system is involved in several biological processes including extracellular proteolysis, cell invasion, and chemotaxis. Mast cells are multifunctional perivascular cells that play an important role in the regulation of microenvironmental events. We report that primary human mast cells and the human mast cell line HMC-1 express the receptor for urokinase. As assessed by Northern blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique, purified human lung mast cells and HMC-1 cells expressed urokinase receptor mRNA in a constitutive manner. Using a toluidine blue/immunofluorescence double staining technique and monoclonal antibodies, surface expression of urokinase receptor was demonstrable in lung, skin, uterus, heart, and tonsil mast cells, whereas the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein was not detectable. Binding of monoclonal antibody VIM5 (recognizing the urokinase binding domain of urokinase receptor) to HMC-1 could be blocked by high molecular weight but not low molecular weight urokinase. Binding analyses performed with 123I-urokinase revealed expression of 271,000 +/- 55,000 high affinity urokinase binding sites per HMC-1 cell, with a calculated dissociation constant of 1. 29 +/- 0.3 nM. Purified urokinase induced dose-dependent migration of primary mast cells and HMC-1 in a chemotaxis assay without inducing release of histamine. The mast cell agonist stem cell factor also induced migration of HMC-1 and caused up-regulation of expression of urokinase receptor mRNA. Together, our data show that human mast cells express functional receptors for urokinase. Expression of urokinase receptors on mast cells may have implications for mast cell-dependent microvascular processes associated with fibrinolysis, migration, or local tissue repair.
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PMID:Molecular and functional characterization of the urokinase receptor on human mast cells. 906 47

Recombinant human stem cell factor (rhSCF) induced histamine release from human skin and lung mast cells but had no effect on human basophil leukocytes. More importantly, rhSCF enhanced the release of histamine in response to IgE-crosslinking of human mast cells. This potentiation was observed at rhSCF concentrations which induced histamine release, and also at lower concentrations of the ligand which by themselves produced no effect. Very limited potentiation was observed with human basophil leukocytes. The enhancing effect of SCF was unique to IgE-dependent stimulation and when SCF was incubated with the neurotransmitter substance P and the calcium ionophore A23187, no augmentation of histamine release was observed with any of the cell types tested. These findings suggest that endogenous SCF may contribute to the regulation of mast cell function and may hence play a role in diverse allergic and inflammatory reactions.
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PMID:The effect of recombinant stem cell factor on human skin and lung mast cells and basophil leukocytes. 908 41

It has been confirmed that the receptor protein encoded by the c-kit proto-oncogene is expressed by cells of the hematopoietic, gonadal, pigment, and mast cell lineages and that its ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), is mainly expressed in their microenvironment. In a previous study we investigated the expression of the c-kit gene in human aortic endothelial cells (EC). In the present study we investigated the expression of SCF in human aortic EC and smooth muscle cells (SMC). Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and Northern blot analyses showed that both human arterial EC and SMC expressed mRNA specific for the SCF gene. In addition, tissue-specific expression of the SCF gene was confirmed by in situ hybridization in the EC and the SMC. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemistry showed evidence of production of SCF protein in both the EC and the SMC. These results indicate the existence of mast cell-SMC interaction and of an autocrine loop of c-kit and its ligand on the surface of EC, suggesting that the interaction between c-kit protein and SCF may play an important role in metabolism of arterial wall and in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in the arterial intima.
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PMID:Expression of stem cell factor in human aortic endothelial and smooth muscle cells. 910 63

Mast cells represent a potential source of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and other cytokines that have been implicated in host defense, tissue maintenance/remodeling, immunoregulation, and many other biologic responses. In acquired immune responses to parasites or allergens, the extensive IgE-dependent activation of mast cells via Fc epsilonRI can result in the release of large quantities of biogenic amines that are stored in the cells' cytoplasmic granules as well as the production of lipid mediators and many cytokines; these products together can orchestrate an intense inflammatory response. We now report that activation of mouse mast cells via c-kit, the receptor for the pleiotropic survival/growth factor, stem cell factor (SCF), can induce the release of IL-6. Upon challenge with SCF, bone marrow-derived cultured mouse mast cells (BMCMCs) released amounts of IL-6 that were greater than 100-fold more than those produced by unstimulated cells, but that were substantially less than those produced in response to IgE and specific antigen. Moreover, BMCMCs released IL-6 upon challenge with concentrations of SCF that resulted in little or no detectable release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, leukotriene C4, histamine, or serotonin. These findings indicate that SCF, a widely expressed protein that is critical for mast cell development and survival, can also regulate the differential release of mast cell mediators.
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PMID:Differential release of mast cell interleukin-6 via c-kit. 910 82

The factors that control migration of mast cells to sites of inflammation and tissue repair remain largely undefined. Whereas several recent studies have described chemotactic factors that induce migration of murine mast cells, only stem cell factor (SCF) is known to induce migration of human mast cells. We report here that the anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a are chemotactic factors for the human mast cell line HMC-1, human cord blood-derived mast cells (CBMC) and cutaneous mast cells in vitro. The presence of an extracellular matrix protein, laminin, was required for chemotaxis in response to complement peptides. Migration of mast cells towards C3a and C5a was dose-dependent, peaking at 1 microg/mL (100 nmol/L), and was inhibited by specific antibodies. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin inhibited the anaphylatoxin-mediated migration of HMC-1 cells, indicating that Gi proteins are involved in complement-activated signal transduction pathways in human mast cells. Both C3a and C5a also induced a rapid and transient mobilization of intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) in HMC-1 cells. Besides SCF, other chemotactic factors tested, such as interleukin-3, nerve growth factor, transforming growth factor beta, RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal Tcell expressed and secreted), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), MCP-2, MCP-3, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), and MIP-1beta, failed to stimulate migration of human mast cells. In summary, these findings indicate that C3a and C5a serve as chemotaxins for human mast cells. Anaphylatoxin-mediated recruitment of mast cells might play an important role in hypersensitivity and inflammatory processes.
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PMID:C3a and C5a stimulate chemotaxis of human mast cells. 910 6


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