title: Absence of immature mast cells in the skin of Ws/Ws rats with a small deletion at tyrosine kinase domain of the c-kit gene.
abstract: Ws/Ws rats have a small deletion at the tyrosine kinase domain of the c-kit gene, and practically no mast cells were detectable when the tissues were stained with alcian blue. Because alcian blue stains proteoglycans, there is a possibility that immature mast cells that do not contain a sufficient amount of proteoglycans are not detectable by this method. We examined this possibility by using other markers of mast cells. The histamine content in the skin of Ws/Ws rats was 0.3% that of control normal (+/+) rats. Because the number of alcian blue-positive mast cells in the skin of Ws/Ws rats was also 0.3% that of +/+ rats, histamine in the skin seemed to be concentrated to alcian blue-positive mast cells. Mast cells in the skin of +/+ rats express messenger RNA of Fc epsilon RI beta-subunit and c-kit protein. Because c-kit messenger RNA was normally expressed at least in the brain of Ws/Ws rats despite the small deletion, we examined the expression of Fc epsilon RI beta-subunit and c-kit messenger RNA in the skin and stomach of Ws/Ws rats by reverse transcriptase modification of polymerase chain reaction. Expression of either Fc epsilon RI beta-subunit or c-kit messenger RNA in the skin and stomach of Ws/Ws rats was estimated to be less than 1% that of +/+ rats. Moreover no Fc epsilon RI beta-subunit-expressing and no c-kit-expressing cells were detectable in the skin of Ws/Ws rats by in situ hybridization histochemistry. The present result suggests the absence of immature mast cells in tissues of Ws/Ws rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Onoue
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasugai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tei
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006632:Histamine / Q000378:metabolism; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes / Q000235:genetics; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains / Q000235:genetics*; D017455:Receptors, IgE / Q000235:genetics; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017455:Receptors, IgE; D006632:Histamine; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit