Newlands G F, Coulson P S, Wilson R A
Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
Parasite Immunol. 1995 Nov;17(11):595-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3024.1995.tb01003.x.
Stem cell factor (SCF) is a growth factor with multiple activities which acts on numerous cell types including primordial germ cells, haemopoietic stem cells, melanocytes and mast cells. SCF is critical for the development of the mast cell hyperplasia associated with infection with the intestinal parasites Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Trichinella spiralis. In the present study we have assessed the role of SCF in the mast cell and eosinophil responses to Schistosoma mansoni in the rat by blocking its effects in vivo with polyclonal antibody to SCF. Rats treated with sheep anti-SCF antibody on days 21, 24, 27 and 30 of infection with S. mansoni showed a rapid decrease in serum concentrations of the mucosal mast cell-associated protease rat mast cell protease II (RMCP II) by day 24, compared with normal sheep IgG-treated controls. Similarly, the number of mucosal mast cells and RMCP II levels in both small intestine and liver were also significantly reduced by day 32 of infection. In contrast with the depeletion of mast cells and mast cell proteases, eosinophil numbers in liver or intestine did not change significantly after anti-SCF treatment compared with controls. These results confirm that mast cell survival and hyperplasia are dependent on the presence of SCF whilst demonstrating that the eosinophil recruitment to liver and intestine associated with S. mansoni infection is SCF-independent.
干细胞因子（SCF）是一种具有多种活性的生长因子，作用于多种细胞类型，包括原始生殖细胞、造血干细胞、黑素细胞和肥大细胞。SCF对于与巴西日圆线虫和旋毛虫肠道寄生虫感染相关的肥大细胞增生的发展至关重要。在本研究中，我们通过用抗SCF多克隆抗体在体内阻断其作用，评估了SCF在大鼠对曼氏血吸虫的肥大细胞和嗜酸性粒细胞反应中的作用。与正常羊IgG处理的对照组相比，在感染曼氏血吸虫的第21、24、27和30天用羊抗SCF抗体处理的大鼠，到第24天时，与粘膜肥大细胞相关的蛋白酶大鼠肥大细胞蛋白酶II（RMCP II）的血清浓度迅速下降。同样，到感染第32天时，小肠和肝脏中的粘膜肥大细胞数量和RMCP II水平也显著降低。与肥大细胞和肥大细胞蛋白酶的减少相反，与对照组相比，抗SCF处理后肝脏或肠道中的嗜酸性粒细胞数量没有显著变化。这些结果证实肥大细胞的存活和增生依赖于SCF的存在，同时表明与曼氏血吸虫感染相关的嗜酸性粒细胞向肝脏和肠道的募集不依赖于SCF。
