Abstract
Abstract Mast cells function as effector and immunomodulatory cells in innate and adaptive immune responses, and they are the primary mediators of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-dependent allergic disorders. Although homing of mast cell progenitors is relatively well studied, little is known about mature mast cell motility and migration in tissue. Our recent studies have characterized novel polarization and motility of mucosal mast cells in culture, including the RBL-2H3 cell line and rat bone marrow-derived mast cells. Motility of these cells depends on several properties, including Ca2+ homeostasis. Preliminary evidence indicates a role for store-operated Ca2+ entry in this process. RBL-2H3 mast cells undergo adhesion and motility on cultured monolayers of rat intestinal epithelial cells, and they exhibit occasional transepithelial migration under these conditions. Intestinal infection of animals by parasitic nematodes, including Trichinella spiralis, induces local mastocytosis. Using multiphoton confocal microscopy of ex vivo intestinal tissue from infected rats, we have been able to visualize fluorescently labeled and adoptively transferred mast cells in the epithelial layer of jejunal villi.
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