Infection of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis induces normal increase of basophils in mast cell-deficient Ws/Ws rats with a small deletion at the kinase domain of c-kit.
All basophils, mucosal-type mast cells (MMC) and connective tissue-type mast cells (CTMC) are derived from the multipotential hematopoietic stem cell. Mutations at the c-kit locus resulted in deficiency of MMC and CTMC in both mice and rats. To investigate the role of the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase for production of basophils, we used white spotting/white spotting (Ws/Ws) mutant rats that have a small deletion at the tyrosine kinase domain of the c-kit gene. When Ws/Ws, nude athymic, and normal (+/+) rats were infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (NB), the number of basophils increased greater than 50-fold in the peripheral blood of Ws/Ws and +/+ rats but did not increase in that of nude rats. Blood histamine concentration increased significantly in Ws/Ws and +/+ rats but did not increase in nude rats. Immature basophils increased greater than 10-fold in the bone marrow of Ws/Ws and +/+ rats but did not increase in that of nude rats. Mature and immature basophils that developed after the NB infection were identified by electron microscopy. The present result confirms that T-cell-derived cytokines are indispensable for the augmented production of basophils and suggests that stimulation via the c-kit receptor may not be necessary for the augmented production.
Kasugai
T
T
Department of Pathology, Medical School, Osaka University, Japan.
Okada
M
M
Morimoto
M
M
Arizono
N
N
Maeyama
K
K
Yamada
M
M
Tei
H
H
Dohmae
K
K
Onoue
H
H
Newlands
G F
GF
D000818:Animals; D001491:Basophils / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D009559:Nippostrongylus; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains; D011923:Rats, Nude; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology
D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit