Strain difference of murine bone marrow-derived mast cell functions.

Mast cells play an important role for the induction and the expression of allergic responses. In this report, we studied the strain difference of bone marrow-derived murine mast cell (BMMC) functions in vitro. BMMC were induced by in vitro culture of bone marrow cells from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice with interleukin (IL)-3 for 4 weeks, stimulated with immunoglobulin E antibody and antigen, and mediators and cytokines released in the culture supernatant were assayed. BMMC from C57BL/6 mice released a higher amount of granule-associated mediators, beta-hexosaminidase, and histamine than that from BALB/c mice. The expression of mRNA of histidine decarboxylase was higher in C57BL/6 mice. Conversely, the productions of newly synthesized mediators, prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), IL-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and the mRNA expression of IL-5 were higher in BALB/c BMMC than C57BL/6 BMMC. Although mRNA and protein expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2 were equal in two strains, both expression levels of hematopoietic PGD synthase (hPGDS) were higher in BALB/c BMMC. Mast cells, freshly obtained from mice, also showed the same strain difference concerning the mediator release. These results indicate that the strain difference exists in mast cell functions in mice, and this difference can be considered to induce the susceptibility difference to allergic reactions in mouse strains.