Mast cells are tissue resident, innate immune cells with heterogenous phenotypes tuned by cytokines and other microenvironmental stimuli. Playing a protective role in parasitic, bacterial, and viral infections, mast cells are also known for their role in the pathogenesis of allergy, asthma, and autoimmune diseases. Here, we review factors controlling mast cell activation, with a focus on receptor signaling and potential therapies for allergic disease. Specifically, we will discuss our work with FcεRI and FγR signaling, IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-β1 treatment, and Stat5. We conclude with potential therapeutics for allergic disease. Much of these efforts have been influenced by the work of Bill Paul. With many mechanistic targets for mast cell activation and different classes of therapeutics being studied, there is reason to be hopeful for continued clinical progress in this area.
TGFβ1 is involved in many pathological conditions, including autoimmune disorders, cancer, cardiovascular and allergic diseases. We have previously found that TGFβ1 can suppress IgE-mediated mast cell activation of human and mouse mast cells. IL-33 is a member of the IL-1 family capable of inducing mast cell responses and enhancing IgE-mediated activation. In this study, we investigated the effects of TGFβ on IL-33-mediated mast cell activation. Bone marrow-derived mast cells cultured in TGFβ −1, −2, or −3 showed reduced IL-33-mediated production of TNF, IL-6, IL-13 and MCP-1, in a concentration-dependent manner. TGFβ1 inhibited IL-33-mediated Akt and ERK phosphorylation as well as NFκB- and AP-1-mediated transcription. These effects were functionally important, as TGFβ1 injection suppressed IL-33-induced systemic cytokines in vivo and inhibited IL-33-mediated cytokine release from human mast cells. TGFβ1 also suppressed the combined effects of IL-33 and IgE-mediated activation on mouse and human mast cells. The role of IL-33 in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases is incompletely understood. These findings, consistent with our previously reported effects of TGFβ1 on IgE-mediated activation, demonstrate that TGFβ1 can provide broad inhibitory signals to activated mast cells.
Mast cells have functional plasticity affected by their tissue microenvironment, which greatly impacts their inflammatory responses. Because lactic acid (LA) is abundant in inflamed tissues and tumors, we investigated how it affects mast cell function. Using IgE-mediated activation as a model system, we found that LA suppressed inflammatory cytokine production and degranulation in mouse peritoneal mast cells, data that were confirmed with human skin mast cells. In mouse peritoneal mast cells, LA-mediated cytokine suppression was dependent on pH-and monocarboxylic transporter-1 expression. Additionally, LA reduced IgE-induced Syk, Btk, and ERK phosphorylation, key signals eliciting inflammation. In vivo, LA injection reduced IgEmediated hypothermia in mice undergoing passive systemic anaphylaxis. Our data suggest that LA may serve as a feedback inhibitor that limits mast cell-mediated inflammation.
Mast cells and basophils are important innate immune cells involved in resistance to parasitic infection and are critical orchestrators of allergic disease. The relative ease with which they are cultured from mouse or human tissues allows one to work with primary cells that maintain a differentiated and functional phenotype. In this chapter, we describe the methods by which mouse mast cells and basophils can be cultured from bone marrow. We also provide methods for isolating and expanding mouse peritoneal mast cells and human skin mast cells.
The relative and potentially synergistic contributions of genetics and environment to inter-individual immune response variation remain unclear, despite critical implications of such variation in both medicine and evolutionary biology. Here, we quantify interactive effects of genotype and environment on immune traits by investigating different inbred mouse strains rewilded in outdoor enclosures and infected with the parasite, Trichuris muris. Whereas cytokine response heterogeneity was primarily driven by genotype, cellular composition heterogeneity was shaped by interactions between genotype and environment with genetic mediated differences decreasing following rewilding, but less dramatically for T cells than for B cells. Importantly, immune variation was associated with altered parasite burdens. These results indicate that nonheritable influences interact with genetic factors to shape immune variation, with synergistic impacts on the deployment and potential evolution of defense mechanisms.
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