Nuclear receptors as targets for drug development: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma in mast cells: its roles in proliferation and differentiation.

Mast cells are derived from stem cells in bone marrow and their proliferation and differentiation are regulated by stimulation of stem cell factor derived from fibroblasts and/or IL-3 from T lymphocytes. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily and ligand-activated transcription factors. It has been reported that PPARgamma is expressed in mast cells, but its roles remain uncertain. Since mast cells produce and release prostaglandin D(2), which is metabolized to 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2), a candidate for the endogenous PPARgamma agonist, mast cells play roles in inflammation and immunological response via the PPARgamma pathway. We will mainly discuss the contribution of PPARgamma to the proliferation and functions in murine cultured bone marrow derived mast cells.