title: Roles of MITF for development of mast cells in mice: effects on both precursors and tissue environments.
abstract: The mutant tg/tg mice, which do not express mi transcription factor (MITF), lack mast cells in most tissues. Since MITF is expressed in both mast cells and tissues where mast cells develop, there is a possibility that the tg/tg mice may show abnormalities in both mast cell precursors and tissue environments. We examined this possibility by bone marrow and skin transplantation. When bone marrow cells of tg/tg mice were transplanted to W/W(v) mice that possess normal tissue environment, mast cells did not develop in all tissues examined. The number of developing mast cells in the skin of W/W(v) mice was much lower when grafted to tg/tg recipients than when grafted to normal (+/+) recipients. These results indicated that mast cell precursors of tg/tg mice were defective. When bone marrow cells of +/+ mice were transplanted, the number of developing mast cells was significantly lower in examined tissues of tg/tg recipients than in those of W/W(v) recipients, suggesting that the tissue environment for mast cell development was defective in tg/tg mice. MITF appeared essential for the function of both mast cell precursors and tissue environments for their development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Room C2, Osaka University Medical School, Yamada-oka 2-2, Suita 565-0871, Japan. morii@patho.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morii
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oboki
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jippo
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Yukihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000528:radiation effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors / Q000494:pharmacology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000494:pharmacology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005838:Genotype; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000494:pharmacology; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013997:Time Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003115:Colony-Stimulating Factors; D016207:Cytokines; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D007377:Interleukin-3; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; C497235:Mitf protein, mouse; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit