Proliferation of mast cells in normal and DMBA-treated mouse skin.

To examine the pattern of proliferation of mast cells in the skin of Swiss Webster mice, single or multiple pulses of 3H-thymidine, autoradiography and selective staining techniques were combined to detect DNA synthesis. A very low labelling index was found for the mast cells of normal skin but alteration of the mast-cell population using the chemical carcinogen dimethylbenzathracene led to increased labelling of mast cells. A series of studies of experimentally altered skin showed a pattern of mast cell labelling which suggested derivation of new mast cells by local self-replication. The labelling pattern indicated that mast cells labelled after 1 h divided to produce 2 daughter cells and that the rate of increase in the number of labelled mast cells following repeated labelling for up to 20 days was linear. These data do not suggest major recruitment of mast cells from a distant source during this period.