Fc gamma R-mediated endocytosis and expression of cell surface Fc gamma RIIb1 and Fc gamma RIIb2 by mouse bone marrow culture-derived progenitor mast cells.

Mouse IL-3-dependent, bone marrow culture-derived mast cells (BMMC) bind IgG immune complexes through Fc receptors for IgG (Fc gamma R) but express minimal Fc gamma RIII on their surfaces. BMMC do not degranulate appreciably when their Fc gamma R are perturbed with the rat anti-mouse Fc gamma RII/III mAb 2.4G2 and F(ab')2 mouse anti-rat IgG (MAR). In contrast, after their Fc gamma R were cross-linked with mAb 2.4G2 and Na125I-labeled MAR at 37 degrees C, BMMC rapidly internalized the complex. To identify the Fc gamma R species expressed on the surface of BMMC and therefore implicated in the endocytic response, two rabbit antipeptide antisera were raised, one against a sequence common to the cytoplasmic regions of Fc gamma RIIb1 and Fc gamma RIIb2 and the other to a unique cytoplasmic region of Fc gamma RIIb1. When Fc gamma R were immunoprecipitated with mAb 2.4G2 from detergent extracts of BMMC, digested with N-glycosidase F, subjected to SDS-PAGE, and immunoblotted with the Fc gamma RIIb1- and Fc gamma RIIb1/b2-specific antibodies, BMMC were found to express Fc gamma RIIb1 and Fc gamma RIIb2. Selective immunoprecipitation of plasma membrane-localized Fc gamma RIIb1 and Fc gamma RIIb2 from [3H]leucine-labeled BMMC showed that their ratio at the cell surface was similar to their initial biosynthetic ratio. Thus, in contrast to mature serosal mast cells that degranulate on binding of IgG complexes, immature mast cells, of which BMMC are a prototype, may have a role in the clearance of complexes without concomitant release of proinflammatory mediators.