title: The role of the CCL2/CCR2 axis in mouse mast cell migration in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: Tissue-resident mast cells (MCs) are important in allergic diseases. In a mouse model of allergic airways inflammation, an increase in peribronchiolar MCs was associated with increased concentrations of the chemokine CCL2 in lung lavage. MC progenitors (MCps) arising in bone marrow (BM) are recruited to tissues by transendothelial migration, and we found that CCL2 is chemotactic for MCps in freshly isolated BM in vitro. Immature, but not mature, BM-derived MCs migrated in response to CCL2 when cultured in IL-3+stem cell factor (SCF) but not when cultured in IL-3 alone. However, the cells under both culture conditions expressed mRNA for CCR2, the receptor for CCL2, and bound the radiolabeled chemokine with similar affinities, highlighting SCF as a key mediator in coupling CCR2 to downstream events, culminating in chemotaxis. Immature BM-derived MCs from IL-3 +SCF cultures, when administered i.v., accumulated at skin sites injected with CCL2 in vivo. MCp recruitment to the allergen-sensitized/challenged lung was significantly reduced in CCR2(-/-) and CCL2(-/-) mouse strains. However, reconstitution studies of sublethally irradiated and BM-reconstituted mice indicated that BM cells and stromal elements could provide CCL2, whereas the CCR2 function resided with stromal elements rather than BM cells. These experiments revealed a new function of SCF in chemokine receptor coupling, but they suggest a complex role of the CCL2/CCR2 axis in recruiting MCps during pulmonary inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Leukocyte Biology Section, Medical Research Council and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Collington
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hallgren
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Pease
authors.forename: Tatiana G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Barrett J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Rollins
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westwick
authors.forename: K Frank
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Austen
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Gurish
authors.forename: Charlotte L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Weller
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D054390:Receptors, CCR2 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; C515335:Ccr2 protein, mouse; D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D054390:Receptors, CCR2; D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D010047:Ovalbumin