Deficient eosinophil chemotaxis-promoting activity of genetically normal mast cells transplanted into subcutaneous tissue of Mitfmi-vga9/Mitfmi-vga9 mice: comparison of the activity and mast cell distribution pattern with KitW/KitW-vMice.

Despite the practical lack of mast cells in the skin tissue of WBB6F(1)-Kit(W)/Kit(W-v), the skin tissue of WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice contains one third of mast cells than that of WBB6F(1)-+/+ mice. We attempted to investigate the function of the decreased but appreciable number of mast cells in the skin of WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice. The substance P (SP)-induced eosinophil infiltration was examined using air-bleb assay. The air-bleb membrane was composed of the subcutaneous connective tissue. Unexpectedly, we found that the air-bleb membranes formed in the back of WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice contained no mast cells. The WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice showed impaired SP-induced eosinophil infiltration as observed in WBB6F(1)-Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice, indicating that mast cells detected in the dermis of WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice did not help SP-induced eosinophil infiltration. Subcutaneous transplantation of cultured mast cells from WBB6F(1)-+/+ mice normalized SP-induced eosinophil infiltration in WBB6F(1)-Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice but not in WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice. The greater number and the more dispersed distribution pattern of mast cells that appeared in the subcutaneous connective tissue of WBB6F(1)-Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) mice after the transplantation appeared to explain the difference between WBB6F(1)-Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) and WBB6F(1)-Mitf(mi-vga9)/Mitf(mi-vga9) mice.