title: Role of galectin-3 in mast cell functions: galectin-3-deficient mast cells exhibit impaired mediator release and defective JNK expression.
abstract: Galectin-3 is a member of the beta-galactoside-binding animal lectin family expressed in various cell types, including mast cells. To determine the role of galectin-3 in the function of mast cells, we studied bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) from wild-type (gal3(+/+)) and galectin-3-deficient (gal3(-/-)) mice. Cells from the two genotypes showed comparable expression of IgE receptor and c-Kit. However, upon activation by FcepsilonRI cross-linkage, gal3(-/-) BMMC secreted a significantly lower amount of histamine as well as the cytokine IL-4, compared with gal3(+/+) BMMC. In addition, we found significantly reduced passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reactions in gal3(-/-) mice compared with gal3(+/+) mice. These results indicate that there is a defect in the response of mast cells in gal3(-/-) mice. Unexpectedly, we found that gal3(-/-) BMMC contained a dramatically lower basal level of JNK1 protein compared with gal3(+/+) BMMC, which is probably responsible for the lower IL-4 production. The decreased JNK1 level in gal3(-/-) BMMC is accompanied by a lower JNK1 mRNA level, suggesting that galectin-3 regulates the transcription of the JNK gene or processing of its RNA. All together, these results point to an important role of galectin-3 in mast cell biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California-Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
authors.forename: Huan-Yuan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bhavya B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Riaz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zuberi
authors.forename: I-Chun
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Daniel K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Fu-Tong
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000707:Anaphylaxis; D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D006632:Histamine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D037502:Galectin 3; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015847:Interleukin-4; D006632:Histamine; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases