Background

Sepsis impairs hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) in patients and animal models contributing to systemic hypoxemia. Levels of cysteinyl leukotrienes are elevated in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with sepsis, but the contribution of cysteinyl leukotrienes to the impairment of HPV is uncertain.

Methods

Wild-type mice, mice deficient in leukotriene C4 synthase, the enzyme responsible for cysteinyl leukotriene synthesis, and mice deficient in cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 were studied at 18 h after challenge with either saline or endotoxin. HPV was measured by the increase in left pulmonary vascular resistance induced by left mainstem bronchus occlusion. Levels of cysteinyl leukotrienes were determined in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

Results

In the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of all three strains, cysteinyl leukotrienes were not detectable after saline challenge; whereas endotoxin challenge increased cysteinyl leukotriene levels in wild-type mice and mice deficient of cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1, but not in mice deficient of leukotriene C4 synthase. HPV did not differ between the three mouse strains after saline challenge (120±26, 114±16, and 115±24%, respectively; mean±SD). Endotoxin challenge markedly impaired HPV in wild-type mice (41±20%) but only marginally in mice deficient in leukotriene C4 synthase (96±16%, P<0.05 vs. wild-type mice), thereby preserving systemic oxygenation. While endotoxin modestly decreased HPV in mice deficient in cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (80±29%, P<0.05 vs. saline challenge), the magnitude of impairment was markedly less than in endotoxin-challenged wild-type mice.

Conclusion

Cysteinyl leukotrienes importantly contribute to endotoxin-induced impairment of HPV in part via a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1-dependent mechanisms.

Activated mast cells, eosinophils, and basophils infiltrate the airways of asthmatics as a result of an overexuberant T helper 2 (Th2) cell immune response that drives the production of IgE, primes mast cells and basophils, and promotes tissue eosinophilia and mast cell hyperplasia. Recent evidence demonstrates that these innate effectors can be activated outside of this classical Th2 cell paradigm and that they have additional roles in promoting the development of innate and adaptive pulmonary inflammation. There is also an appreciation for the role of airway epithelial cells in orchestrating allergic pulmonary inflammation. Emerging data from basic research highlights the involvement of many unique pathways in the inflammation triggered by complex native allergens and microbes at the airway mucosal surface. Here we review the role of effector cells and airway epithelial cells in augmenting and, at times, bypassing traditional Th2 cell-mediated allergic inflammation.

A second degree epidermal scald burn in mice elicits an inflammatory response mediated by natural IgM directed to non-muscle myosin with complement activation that results in ulceration and scarring. We find that such burn injury is associated with early mast cell (MC) degranulation and is absent in WBB6F1-KitW/KitWv mice which lack MCs in a context of other defects due to a mutation of the KIT receptor. To further address a MC role, we used transgenic strains with normal lineage development and a deficiency in a specific secretory granule component. Mouse strains lacking the MC-restricted chymase, mouse MC protease (mMCP)-4, or elastase, mMCP-5, show decreased injury following a second degree scald burn while mice lacking the MC-restricted tryptases, mMCP-6 and mMCP-7, or the MC-specific carboxypeptidase A3 activity are not protected. Histologic sections showed some disruption of the epidermis at the scald site in the protected strains suggesting the possibility of topical reconstitution of full injury. Topical application of recombinant mMCP-5 or human neutrophil elastase to the scalded area increases epidermal injury with subsequent ulceration and scarring, both clinically and morphologically, in mMCP-5-deficent mice. Restoration of injury requires that topical administration of recombinant mMCP-5 occurs within the first h post burn. Importantly, topical application of human MC chymase restores burn injury to scalded mMCP-4-deficient mice but not to mMCP-5-deficient mice revealing non-redundant actions for these two MC proteases in a model of innate inflammatory injury with remodeling.

Dectin-2 expression on GM-CSF–cultured bone marrow cells is required for the generation of cysteinyl leukotrienes and Th2 cytokines in response to the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae in vivo.

The innate signaling pathways for Th2 immunity activated by inhaled antigens are not well defined. We previously identified Dectin-2 as a receptor for glycans in allergen extracts from the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) that mediates cysteinyl leukotriene (cys-LT) generation from pulmonary CD11c+ cells and from GM-CSF–cultured bone marrow cells (BMCsGM-CSF). Using lentiviral knockdown of Dectin-2 in BMCsGM-CSF and adoptive transfer of Df-pulsed BMCsGM-CSF to sensitize naive mice, we now report that Dectin-2 is critical for the development of Df-elicited eosinophilic and neutrophilic pulmonary inflammation and Th2 cytokine generation in the lungs and restimulated lymph nodes. Sensitization with Df-pulsed BMCsGM-CSF from LTC4 synthase (LTC4S)–deficient mice or type 1 cys-LT receptor (CysLT1R)–deficient mice demonstrated that both proteins were required for Df-elicited eosinophilic pulmonary inflammation and Th2 cytokine generation in the lungs and restimulated lymph nodes. Direct sensitization and challenge of Ltc4s−/− and Cysltr1−/− mice confirmed that cys-LTs mediate these parameters of Df-elicited Th2 pulmonary inflammation. Thus, the Dectin-2–cys-LT pathway is critical for the induction of Th2 immunity to a major allergen, in part through CysLT1R. These findings identify a previously unrecognized link between a myeloid C-type lectin receptor and Th2 immunity.

Tissue-resident mast cells (MCs) are important in allergic diseases. In a mouse model of allergic airways inflammation, an increase in peribronchiolar MCs was associated with increased concentrations of the chemokine CCL2 in lung lavage. MC progenitors (MCps) arising in bone marrow (BM) are recruited to tissues by transendothelial migration, and we found that CCL2 is chemotactic for MCps in freshly isolated BM in vitro. Immature, but not mature, BM-derived MCs migrated in response to CCL2 when cultured in IL-3+stem cell factor (SCF) but not when cultured in IL-3 alone. However, the cells under both culture conditions expressed mRNA for CCR2, the receptor for CCL2, and bound the radiolabeled chemokine with similar affinities, highlighting SCF as a key mediator in coupling CCR2 to downstream events, culminating in chemotaxis. Immature BM-derived MCs from IL-3 +SCF cultures, when administered i.v., accumulated at skin sites injected with CCL2 in vivo. MCp recruitment to the allergen-sensitized/challenged lung was significantly reduced in CCR2−/− and CCL2−/− mouse strains. However, reconstitution studies of sublethally irradiated and BM-reconstituted mice indicated that BM cells and stromal elements could provide CCL2, whereas the CCR2 function resided with stromal elements rather than BM cells. These experiments revealed a new function of SCF in chemokine receptor coupling, but they suggest a complex role of the CCL2/CCR2 axis in recruiting MCps during pulmonary inflammation.

Leukotriene (LT) C4 and its metabolites, LTD4 and LTE4, are involved in the pathobiology of bronchial asthma. LTC4 synthase is the nuclear membrane-embedded enzyme responsible for LTC4 biosynthesis, catalyzing the conjugation of two substrates that have considerably different water solubility; that amphipathic LTA4 as a derivative of arachidonic acid and a water-soluble glutathione (GSH). A previous crystal structure revealed important details of GSH binding and implied a GSH activating function for Arg-104. In addition, Arg-31 was also proposed to participate in the catalysis based on the putative LTA4 binding model. In this study enzymatic assay with mutant enzymes demonstrates that Arg-104 is required for the binding and activation of GSH and that Arg-31 is needed for catalysis probably by activating the epoxide group of LTA4.

In C57BL/6 mice, the recruitment of mast cell progenitors (MCps) to the lung is a feature of Ag-induced pulmonary inflammation that requires sensitization and challenge and is totally inhibited by the administration of anti-CD4 at the time of challenge. When mAb to TGFβ1 or to IL-10R was administered at the time of challenge, the recruitment of MCp/106 mononuclear cells (MNCs) to the lung was inhibited by 56.3 and 69.6%, respectively, whereas mAb to IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17A, and IL-17F had no effect. In sensitized and challenged C57BL/6 mice lacking TGFβRII on CD4+ cells, the recruitment of MCp/106 MNCs was reduced by 67.8%. The requirement for TGFβ1 and IL-10 suggested a role for CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells. Mice treated with anti-CD25 at the time of Ag-challenge showed a reduction in the recruitment of MCp/106 MNCs by 77.2% without any reduction in MNC influx. These results reveal an unexpected role for T regulatory cells in promoting the recruitment of MCps to the lungs of C57BL/6 mice with Ag-induced pulmonary inflammation.

Ischemia with subsequent reperfusion (IR) injury is a significant clinical problem that occurs after physical and surgical trauma, myocardial infarction, and organ transplantation. IR injury of mouse skeletal muscle depends on the presence of both natural IgM and an intact C pathway. Disruption of the skeletal muscle architecture and permeability also requires mast cell (MC) participation, as revealed by the fact that IR injury is markedly reduced in c-kit defective, MC-deficient mouse strains. In this study, we sought to identify the pathobiologic MC products expressed in IR injury using transgenic mouse strains with normal MC development, except for the lack of a particular MC-derived mediator. Histologic analysis of skeletal muscle from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice revealed a strong positive correlation (R2 = 0.85) between the extent of IR injury and the level of MC degranulation. Linkage between C activation and MC degranulation was demonstrated in mice lacking C4, in which only limited MC degranulation and muscle injury were apparent. No reduction in injury was observed in transgenic mice lacking leukotriene C4 synthase, hemopoietic PGD2 synthase, N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase-2 (enzyme involved in heparin biosynthesis), or mouse MC protease (mMCP) 1. In contrast, muscle injury was significantly attenuated in mMCP-5-null mice. The MCs that reside in skeletal muscle contain abundant amounts of mMCP-5 which is the serine protease that is most similar in sequence to human MC chymase. We now report a cytotoxic activity associated with a MC-specific protease and demonstrate that mMCP-5 is critical for irreversible IR injury of skeletal muscle.

The intracellular parent of the cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LTs), leukotriene (LT) C4, is formed by conjugation of LTA4 and reduced glutathione by LTC4 synthase in mast cells, eosinophils, basophils, and macrophages. After extracellular export, LTC4 is converted to LTD4 and LTE4 by sequential enzymatic removal of glutamic acid and then glycine. Only LTE4 is sufficiently stable to be prominent in biologic fluids, such as urine or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of asthmatic individuals and at sites of inflammation in animal models. LTE4 has received little attention because it binds poorly to the classical receptors, CysLT1R and CysLT2R, and was much less active on normal airways than LTC4 or LTD4. However, early studies indicated that LTE4 caused skin swelling in humans as potently as LTC4 and LTD4, that airways of asthmatic subjects (particularly those that were aspirin-sensitive) were selectively hyperresponsive to LTE4, and that a potential distinct LTE4 receptor was present in guinea pig trachea. Recent studies have begun to uncover receptors selective for LTE4; P2Y12, an ADP receptor, and CysLTER, observed functionally in skin of mice lacking CysLT1R and CysLT2R. These findings prompt a renewed focus on LTE4 receptors as therapeutic targets that are not currently addressed by available receptor antagonists.

Pulmonary mast cell progenitor (MCp) numbers increase dramatically in sensitized and aerosolized Ag-challenged mice. This increase depends on CD4+ T cells, as no MCp increase occurs in the lungs of sensitized wild-type (WT) mice after mAb depletion of CD4+ but not CD8+ cells before aerosol Ag challenge. Neither the genetic absence of IL-4, IL-4Rα chain, STAT-6, IFN-γ, or IL-12p40 nor mAb blockade of IFN-γ, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-12p40, or IL-12p40Rβ1 before Ag challenge in WT mice reduces the pulmonary MCp increase. However, sensitized and Ag-challenged IL-9-deficient mice and sensitized WT mice given mAb to IL-9 just before Ag challenge show significant reductions in elicited lung MCp/106 mononuclear cells of 47 and 66%, respectively. CD1d-deficient mice and WT mice receiving anti-CD1d before Ag challenge also show significant reductions of 65 and 59%, respectively, in elicited lung MCp/106 mononuclear cells, revealing an additional requirement for MCp recruitment. However, in Jα18-deficient mice, which lack only type 1 or invariant NKT cells, the increase in the numbers of lung MCp with Ag challenge was intact, indicating that their recruitment must be mediated by type 2 NKT cells. Furthermore, anti-CD1d treatment of IL-9-deficient mice or anti-IL-9 treatment of CD1d-deficient mice does not further reduce the significant partial impairment of MCp recruitment occurring with a single deficiency. These findings implicate type 2 NKT cells and IL-9 as central regulators that function in the same pathway mediating the Ag-induced increase in numbers of pulmonary MCp.

We previously reported that joint swelling, synovial thickening, and cartilage matrix depletion induced by the injection of anti-collagen monoclonal antibodies and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in BALB/c mice are increased in the absence of inhibitory leukocyte immunoglobulin (Ig)-like receptor B4 (LILRB4; formerly gp49B1) in a neutrophil-dependent manner. Because both mast cells and neutrophils express LILRB4, we sought a mast cell requirement with mast cell–deficient mouse strains, but unexpectedly obtained full arthritis in KitW-sh mice and full resistance in KitW/KitW-v mice. KitW-sh mice were indeed mast cell deficient as assessed by histology and the absence of IgE/mast cell–dependent passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in the ear and joint as well as passive systemic anaphylaxis. Deletion of LILRB4 in KitW-sh mice exacerbated anti-collagen/LPS-induced joint swelling that was abolished by neutrophil depletion, establishing a counterregulatory role for LILRB4 in the absence of mast cells. Whereas blood neutrophil levels and LPS-elicited tissue neutrophilia were equal in KitW-sh and Kit+ mice, both were impaired in KitW/KitW-v mice. Although both strains are mast cell deficient and protected from IgE-mediated anaphylactic reactions, their dramatically different responses to autoantibody-mediated, neutrophil-dependent immune complex arthritis suggest that other host differences determine the extent of mast cell involvement. Thus, a conclusion for an absolute mast cell role in a pathobiologic process requires evidence from both strains.

Neutrophils serve as a vanguard of the acute innate immune response to invading pathogens. Neutrophils are also abundant at sites of autoimmune inflammation, such as the rheumatoid joint, although their pathophysiologic role is incompletely defined and relevant effector functions remain obscure. Using genetic and pharmacologic approaches in the K/BxN serum transfer model of arthritis, we find that autoantibody-driven erosive synovitis is critically reliant on the generation of leukotrienes, and more specifically on leukotriene B4 (LTB4), for disease induction as well as perpetuation. Pursuing the cellular source for this mediator, we find via reconstitution experiments that mast cells are a dispensable source of leukotrienes, whereas arthritis susceptibility can be restored to leukotriene-deficient mice by intravenous administration of wild-type neutrophils. These experiments demonstrate a nonredundant role for LTB4 in inflammatory arthritis and define a neutrophil mediator involved in orchestrating the synovial eruption.

Mouse models of T helper type 2 (Th2) cell–biased pulmonary inflammation have elucidated mechanisms of sensitization, cell traffic, and induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Nonetheless, most mice lack intrinsic AHR, a central property of human asthma, and disparities persist regarding the contributions of eosinophils and mast cells and the sensitivity to induced AHR in the commonly used mouse strains. We suggest that these discordances, reflecting methodological and genetic differences, may be informative for understanding heterogeneity of human asthma.

gp49B1 is expressed on mast cells and inhibits immunoglobulin E–dependent activation and inflammation in vivo. We now show that gp49B1 is expressed on neutrophils and prevents neutrophil-dependent vascular injury in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The intradermal (i.d.) injection of LPS into gp49B1-null (gp49B−/−) but not gp49B1-sufficient (gp49B+/+) mice elicited macroscopic hemorrhages by 24 h, which were preceded on microscopic analyses by significantly more intravascular thrombi (consisting of neutrophils, platelets, and fibrin) that occluded venules and by more tissue neutrophils than in gp49B+/+ mice. However, there were no differences in the number of intact (nondegranulating) mast cells or the tissue levels of mediators that promote neutrophil recruitment. Hemorrhage was prevented by depleting neutrophils, blocking β2 integrin–intercellular adhesion molecule 1 interactions, or inhibiting coagulation. These characteristics indicate that gp49B−/− mice are exquisitely sensitive to a local Shwartzman reaction (LSR) after a single i.d. injection of LPS, whereas in the classic LSR, a second exposure is required for increased β2 integrin function, intravascular neutrophil aggregation, formation of occlusive thrombi, and hemorrhage. Moreover, LPS increased gp49B1 expression on neutrophils in vivo. The results suggest that gp49B1 suppresses the LPS-induced increase in intravascular neutrophil adhesion, thereby providing critical innate protection against a pathologic response to a bacterial component.

We previously reported that interleukin (IL)-4 upregulates the expression of leukotriene C4 synthase (LTC4S) by human cord blood–derived mast cells (hMCs), augments their high-affinity Fc receptor for IgE (FcεRI)-dependent generation of eicosanoids and cytokines, and induces a calcium flux in response to cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LTs) and uridine diphosphate (UDP) that is blocked by cys-LT receptor antagonists. We speculated that this IL-4–dependent, receptor-mediated response to the cys-LTs and UDP might induce cytokine generation by hMCs without concomitant exocytosis. Unlike hMCs maintained in cytoprotective stem cell factor (SCF) alone, hMCs primed for 5 d with IL-4 responded to UDP (1 μM), LTC4 (100 nM), and LTD4 (100 nM) by producing IL-5, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and especially large quantities of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β de novo at 6 h, preceded by the induced expression of the corresponding mRNAs. Cys-LT– and UDP-mediated cytokine production by the primed hMCs occurred without histamine release or PGD2 generation and was inhibited by the CysLT1 receptor antagonist MK571. Additionally, pretreatment of hMCs with MK571 or with the cys-LT biosynthetic inhibitor MK886 decreased IL-5 and TNF-α production in response to IgE receptor cross-linkage, implying a positive feedback by endogenously produced cys-LTs. Cys-LTs and UDP thus orchestrate a novel, IL-4–regulated, non-IgE–dependent hMC activation for cytokine gene induction that could be initiated by microbes, cellular injury, or neurogenic or inflammatory signals; and this pathobiologic event would not be recognized in tissue studies where hMC activation is classically defined by exocytosis.

Mast cells (MCs) are centrally important in allergic inflammation of the airways, as well as in the intestinal immune response to helminth infection. A single lineage of bone marrow (BM)-derived progenitors emigrates from the circulation and matures into phenotypically distinct MCs in different tissues. Because the mechanisms of MC progenitor (MCp) homing to peripheral tissues have not been evaluated, we used limiting dilution analysis to measure the concentration of MCp in various tissues of mice deficient for candidate homing molecules. MCp were almost completely absent in the small intestine but were present in the lung, spleen, BM, and large intestine of β7 integrin-deficient mice (on the C57BL/6 background), indicating that a β7 integrin is critical for homing of these cells to the small intestine. MCp concentrations were not altered in the tissues of mice deficient in the αE integrin (CD103), the β2 integrin (CD18), or the recombination activating gene (RAG)-2 gene either alone or in combination with the interleukin (IL)-receptor common γ chain. Therefore, it is the α4β7 integrin and not the αEβ7 integrin that is critical, and lymphocytes and natural killer cells play no role in directing MCp migration under basal conditions. When MCp in BALB/c mice were eliminated with sublethal doses of γ-radiation and then reconstituted with syngeneic BM, the administration of anti-α4β7 integrin, anti-α4 integrin, anti-β7 integrin, or anti–MAdCAM-1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) blocked the recovery of MCp in the small intestine. The blocking mAbs could be administered as late as 4 d after BM reconstitution with optimal inhibition, implying that the MCp must arise first in the BM, circulate in the vasculature, and then translocate into the intestine. Inasmuch as MCp are preserved in the lungs of β7 integrin-deficient and anti-α4β7 integrin-treated mice but not in the small intestine, α4β7 integrin is critical for tissue specific extravasation for localization of MCp in the small intestine, but not the lungs.

gp49B1 is an immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily member that inhibits FcεRI-induced mast cell activation when the two receptors are coligated with antibodies in vitro. The critical question of in vivo function of gp49B1 is now addressed in gene-disrupted mice. gp49B1-deficient mice exhibited a significantly increased sensitivity to IgE-dependent passive cutaneous anaphylaxis as assessed by greater tissue swelling and mast cell degranulation in situ. Importantly, by the same criteria, the absence of gp49B1 also resulted in a lower threshold for antigen challenge in active cutaneous anaphylaxis, in which the antigen-specific antibody levels were comparable in gp49B1-deficient and sufficient mice. Moreover, the absence of gp49B1 resulted in a significantly greater and faster death rate in active systemic anaphylaxis. These results indicate that gp49B1 innately dampens adaptive immediate hypersensitivity responses by suppressing mast cell activation in vivo. In addition, this study provides a new concept and target for regulation of allergic disease susceptibility and severity.

Human mast cells (hMCs) derived in vitro from cord blood mononuclear cells exhibit stem cell factor (SCF)-dependent comitogenic responses to T helper cell type 2 (Th2) cytokines. As cysteinyl leukotriene (cys-LT) biosynthesis is a characteristic of immunoglobulin (Ig)E-activated mucosal hMCs, we speculated that Th2 cytokines might regulate eicosanoid generation by hMCs. After passive sensitization for 5 d with IgE in the presence of SCF, anti-IgE–stimulated hMCs elaborated minimal cys-LT (0.1 ± 0.1 ng/106 hMCs) and abundant prostaglandin (PG)D2 (16.2 ± 10.3 ng/106 hMCs). Priming of hMCs by interleukin (IL)-4 with SCF during passive sensitization enhanced their anti-IgE–dependent histamine exocytosis and increased their generation of both cys-LT (by 27-fold) and PGD2 (by 2.5-fold). Although priming with IL-3 or IL-5 alone for 5 d with SCF minimally enhanced anti-IgE–mediated cys-LT generation, these cytokines induced further six- and fourfold increases, respectively, in IgE-dependent cys-LT generation when provided with IL-4 and SCF; this occurred without changes in PGD2 generation or histamine exocytosis relative to hMCs primed with IL-4 alone. None of these cytokines, either alone or in combination, substantially altered the levels of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), or 5-LO activating protein (FLAP) protein expression by hMCs. In contrast, IL-4 priming dramatically induced the steady-state expression of leukotriene C4 synthase (LTC4S) mRNA within 6 h, and increased the expression of LTC4S protein and functional activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with plateaus at 10 ng/ml and 5 d, respectively. Priming by either IL-3 or IL-5, with or without IL-4, supported the localization of 5-LO to the nucleus of hMCs. Thus, different Th2-derived cytokines target distinct steps in the 5-LO/LTC4S biosynthetic pathway (induction of LTC4S expression and nuclear import of 5-LO, respectively), each of which is necessary for a full integrated functional response to IgE-dependent activation, thus modulating the effector phenotype of mature hMCs.

Mast cells (MCs) arise in situ from circulating stem cell factor (SCF)-dependent committed progenitors (PrMCs) and accumulate at sites of allergic mucosal inflammation. We hypothesized that human (h)PrMCs and their mature counterparts might share overlapping patterns of chemokine and cytokine receptor utilization with eosinophils, basophils, and T helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes for their homing and allergy-associated hyperplasia. We have characterized committed hPrMCs and fully mature hMCs derived in vitro from cord blood for their functional responses to chemokine and cytokine agonists germane to allergic inflammation and for their maturation-related expression of the corresponding receptors. After 4 wk of culture in the presence of recombinant stem cell factor (SCF), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10, the cells were characterized as hPrMCs based upon their uniform surface expression of c-kit and CD13, low-level expression of Fc∈RIα, absence of CD14 and CD16 expression, and immunoreactivity for MC chymase in >80%, and about half were immunoreactive for tryptase and metachromatic with toluidine blue. By week 9, the cells had matured into hMCs, identified by higher levels of c-kit, continued expression of CD13 and low-level Fc∈RIα, uniform toluidine blue metachromasia, and uniform immunoreactivity for both tryptase and chymase. The 4-wk-old hPrMCs expressed four chemokine receptors (CXCR2, CCR3, CXCR4, and CCR5). Each receptor mediated transient rapid calcium fluxes in response to its respective ligand. Both recombinant human eotaxin and stromal cell–derived factor 1α elicited chemotaxis of hPrMCs. Only CCR3 was retained on the mature 9-wk-old hMCs from among these chemokine receptors, and hMCs responded to eotaxin with a sustained calcium flux but without chemotaxis. The Th2 cytokines IL-3, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor each augmented the SCF-dependent proliferation of hPrMCs and hMCs. In contrast, the prototypical Th1 cytokine, interferon γ, suppressed SCF-driven proliferation of both hPrMCs and hMCs. Thus, throughout their development in vitro, hMCs obey SCF-dependent, cytokine-driven mitogenic responses that reflect a Th2-type polarization characteristic of allergy and asthma. Furthermore, committed hPrMCs have a unique profile of chemokine receptor expression from among reported hematopoietic cells, including CCR3, which is shared with the other cells central to allergic inflammation (eosinophils, basophils, and Th2 lymphocytes).

We evaluated mature peripheral blood eosinophils for their expression of the surface tyrosine kinase, c-kit, the receptor for the stromal cell–derived cytokine, stem cell factor (SCF). Cytofluorographic analysis revealed that c-kit was expressed on the purified peripheral blood eosinophils from 8 of 8 donors (4 nonatopic and 4 atopic) (mean channel fluorescence intensity 2.0– 3.6-fold, average 2.8 ± 0.6-fold, greater than the negative control). The uniform and selective expression of c-kit by eosinophils was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis of peripheral blood buffy coats. The functional integrity of c-kit was demonstrated by the capacity of 100 ng/ml (5 nM) of recombinant human (rh) SCF to increase eosinophil adhesion to 3, 10, and 30 μg/ml of immobilized FN40, a 40-kD chymotryptic fragment of plasma fibronectin, in 15 min by 7.7 ± 1.4-, 5.3 ± 3.3-, and 5.4 ± 0.2-fold, respectively, and their adhesion to 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 μg/ml vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), by 12.7 ± 9.2-, 3.8 ± 2.5-, and 1.7 ± 0.6-fold, respectively. The SCF-stimulated adhesion occurred without concomitant changes in surface integrin expression, thereby indicating an avidity-based mechanism. rhSCF (100 ng/ml, 5 nM) was comparable to rh eotaxin (200 ng/ml, 24 nM) in stimulating adhesion. Cell adhesion to FN40 was completely inhibited with antibodies against the α4 and β1 integrin subunits, revealing that the SCF/c-kit adhesion effect was mediated by a single integrin heterodimer, very late antigen 4 (VLA-4). Thus, SCF represents a newly recognized stromal ligand for the activation of eosinophils for VLA-4–mediated adhesion, which could contribute to the exit of these cells from the blood, their tissue localization, and their prominence in inflammatory lesions.

The naturally occurring sulfidopeptide leukotrienes, leukotriene (LT) C4 (LTC4) [5(S)-hydroxy - 6(R) - S - glutathionyl - 7,9 - trans, 11,14 - cis - eicosatetraenoic acid] and its cysteinylglycine (LTD4) and cysteinyl (LTE4) analogs, which are derived by peptide cleavage, differ in the concentrations required to elicit comparable contractions of the guinea pig ileum, with respective potencies of 1.2:5:1. The effect of the ongoing bioconversion of LTC4 and LTD4 on the contractile response of the guinea pig ileum to each was determined by recording the pattern of the contraction and quantitating the initial agonist and its metabolic products. The contraction was elicited by radiolabeled agonist, and its conversion products were sampled at defined intervals and resolved by their retention times on reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. After a latent period of 60 s. LTC4 initiated a linear response, followed by a slower, progressive response to a maximum level that was maintained without relaxation. The metabolic conversion of LTC4 was <5% during the linear phase of contraction and complete inhibition of bioconversion of LTC4 to LTD4 by the presence of serine-borate complex did not alter the pattern of the spasmogenic response. As the maximum response in the presence of serine-borate complex was three-quarters of that obtained without the inhibitor of bioconversion, the predominant response was to LTC4 itself. The spasmogenic response of the ileum to LTD4 was immediate, linear to a maximum level, and immediately followed by a marked relaxation. That the failure of LTD4 to sustain a contraction was due to its immediate, rapid, and quantitative conversion to the less potent LTE4 was established by pharmacologically inhibiting and anatomically deleting the converting activity. In the presence of L-cysteine the conversion of LTD4 to LTE4 was largely inhibited and the maximum contractile response was well maintained. After anatomic removal of the mucosa that contained the LTD4 dipeptidase activity, the longitudinal smooth muscle preparation gave a maximal response to LTD4 that was fully maintained. Thus, bioconversion is not a prerequisite for the spasmogenic activity of LTC4 and accounts for the transient response of the ileum to LTD4.

The ability of heparin glycosaminoglycan to prevent formation of the properdin-stabilized amplification C3 convertase is independent of antithrombin binding activity and requires substitution of the amino sugar and a degree of oxygen (O)-sulfation which could be on the uronic acid or the amino sugar. Preparations of heparin glycosaminoglycan isolated by different techniques from different species (rat, human, and porcine) exhibited an equivalent capacity to inhibit generation of the amplification C3 convertase. Hyaluronic acid, which is devoid of O-sulfation, had no inhibitory activity; chondroitin 4-sulfate of rat and whale origins, chondroitin 6-sulfate of rat and shark origins, and dermatan sulfate from porcine skin are O-sulfated on the galactosamine and had minimal activity. Porcine heparin glycosaminoglycan, isolated on the basis of affinity for antithrombin III, had no greater anticomplementary activity than porcine glycosaminoglycan, which failed to bind antithrombin III and had essentially no anticoagulant activity. Nitrogen (N)-desulfation of porcine heparin reduced anticomplementary activity to the level of the other sulfated mucopolysaccharides, and both N-resulfation and N-acetylation restored the original activities, thereby indicating a requirement for N-substitution, but not N-sulfation. N-resulfation of N-desulfated and O-desulfated heparin did not restore any activity, thus indicating that O-sulfation and N-substitution represent independent, critical structural requirements for the anticomplementary activity of heparin glycosaminoglycan. Inasmuch as N-desulfated-N-acetylated heparin had no anticoagulant activity, the nature of the N-substitution completely distinguishes the plasma-protein effector pathway that is inhibited.

Heparin as measured by azure A metachromasia and anticoagulant activity has been extracted with 1 M NaCl from 35S-labeled human lung fragments or dispersed human lung cells enriched for mast cells. The 35S-labeled metachromatic material in the 3 M NaCl eluate from Dowex-1 chromatography of the extract from lung fragments exhibited an average mol wt of 20,000 by Sepharose 4B gel filtration. The 35S-labeled metachromatic material with the charge characteristics of commercial porcine heparin on DEAE cellulose chromatography was entirely heparin by the criteria of resistance to degradation by chondroitin ABC lyase and complete degradation by purified heparinase. Antithrombin affinity chromatography of purified heparin with an anticoagulant activity of 137 U/mg, revealed that the one-third that was bound and eluted had a 273 U/mg sp act, whereas the unbound activity was 31 U/mg. Thus, the previously observed heterogeneity of commercial porcine heparin for binding to human antithrombin was also observed with human heparin. The mast cell-enriched human lung cell preparations yielded [35S]mucopolysaccharides with an average mol wt of 60,000 by Sepharose 4B gel filtration. Approximately 30% of this fraction was degraded by chondroitin ABC lyase, and the residual 70% was degraded by purified heparinase. When the chondroitin ABC lyase-resistant fraction was subjected to alkali degradation the average mol wt was reduced to 20,000. The calculated human lung mast cell heparin content of 2.4-7.8 μg/106 cells gave a ratio to histamine on a weight basis similar to that of intact lung fragments, thereby implying that heparin in the lung fragments was largely restricted to the mast cells.