Leon A, Buriani A, Dal Toso R, Fabris M, Romanello S, Aloe L, Levi-Montalcini R
Researchlife, Ospedale Civile, Castelfranco Veneto, Italy.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Apr 26;91(9):3739-43. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.9.3739.
Mast cells and nerve growth factor (NGF) have both been reported to be involved in neuroimmune interactions and tissue inflammation. In many peripheral tissues, mast cells interact with the innervating fibers. Changes in the behaviors of both of these elements occur after tissue injury/inflammation. As such conditions are typically associated with rapid mast cell activation and NGF accumulation in inflammatory exudates, we hypothesized that mast cells may be capable of producing NGF. Here we report that (i) NGF mRNA is expressed in adult rat peritoneal mast cells; (ii) anti-NGF antibodies clearly stain vesicular compartments of purified mast cells and mast cells in histological sections of adult rodent mesenchymal tissues; and (iii) medium conditioned by peritoneal mast cells contains biologically active NGF. Mast cells thus represent a newly recognized source of NGF. The known actions of NGF on peripheral nerve fibers and immune cells suggest that mast cell-derived NGF may control adaptive/reactive responses of the nervous and immune systems toward noxious tissue perturbations. Conversely, alterations in normal mast cell behaviors may provoke maladaptive neuroimmune tissue responses whose consequences could have profound implications in inflammatory disease states, including those of an autoimmune nature.
肥大细胞和神经生长因子（NGF）均被报道参与神经免疫相互作用和组织炎症。在许多外周组织中，肥大细胞与支配神经纤维相互作用。组织损伤/炎症后，这两种细胞成分的行为都会发生变化。由于这些情况通常与肥大细胞的快速激活以及炎症渗出物中NGF的积累有关，我们推测肥大细胞可能能够产生NGF。在此我们报告：（i）成年大鼠腹膜肥大细胞中表达NGF mRNA；（ii）抗NGF抗体可清晰地对纯化肥大细胞的囊泡区室以及成年啮齿动物间充质组织组织切片中的肥大细胞进行染色；（iii）腹膜肥大细胞条件培养基中含有生物活性NGF。因此，肥大细胞是一种新发现的NGF来源。NGF对周围神经纤维和免疫细胞的已知作用表明，肥大细胞来源的NGF可能控制神经和免疫系统对有害组织扰动的适应性/反应性应答。相反地，正常肥大细胞行为的改变可能引发适应不良的神经免疫组织反应，其后果可能对包括自身免疫性疾病在内的炎症性疾病状态产生深远影响。
