title: Ancient origin of mast cells.
abstract: The sentinel roles of mammalian mast cells (MCs) in varied infections raised the question of their evolutionary origin. We discovered that the test cells in the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis morphologically and histochemically resembled cutaneous human MCs. Like the latter, C. intestinalis test cells stored histamine and varied heparin·serine protease complexes in their granules. Moreover, they exocytosed these preformed mediators when exposed to compound 48/80. In support of the histamine data, a C. intestinalis-derived cDNA was isolated that resembled that which encodes histidine decarboxylase in human MCs. Like heparin-expressing mammalian MCs, activated test cells produced prostaglandin D2 and contained cDNAs that encode a protein that resembles the synthase needed for its biosynthesis in human MCs. The accumulated morphological, histochemical, biochemical, and molecular biology data suggest that the test cells in C. intestinalis are the counterparts of mammalian MCs that reside in varied connective tissues. The accumulated data point to an ancient origin of MCs that predates the emergence of the chordates >500million years ago, well before the development of adaptive immunity. The remarkable conservation of MCs throughout evolution is consistent with their importance in innate immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: gwwong@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: G William
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Research Complex for the Medicine Frontiers, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi 480 1195, Japan.
authors.forename: Lisheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.affiliation: Research Complex for the Medicine Frontiers, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi 480 1195, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimata
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Bing K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan.
authors.forename: Nori
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D006493:Heparin / Q000378:metabolism; D006636:Histamine Release; D006640:Histidine Decarboxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics; D054834:Lipocalins / Q000235:genetics; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015230:Prostaglandin D2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D022142:Secretory Vesicles / Q000502:physiology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D057057:Serine Proteases / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D054834:Lipocalins; D006493:Heparin; D057057:Serine Proteases; D006640:Histidine Decarboxylase; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases; C022466:prostaglandin R2 D-isomerase; D015230:Prostaglandin D2
keywords: Ciona intestinalis; Heparin; Histamine; Mast cell; Prostaglandin D(2); Serine protease
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