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Mucosal mast cells are functionally active during spontaneous expulsion of intestinal nematode infections in rat

Nature volume 312, pages 450–452 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

Infestation of the gastrointestinal tract by parasitic nematodes is invariably associated with mucosal mastocytosis1,2, which is a thymus-dependent phenomenon in parasitized rats3, and is adoptively transferable with a T cell-enriched population of thoracic duct lymphocytes4. When derived by in vitro culture, mucosal mast cells (MMC) arise from a bone marrow precursor after stimulation by T cell-derived factors5. In rats infected with the nematode Trichinella spiralis, mucosal mastocytosis is temporally associated with the immune expulsion of the adult worms6 whereas in the case of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, mastocytosis is frequently observed to occur after worm expulsion has been completed7–9. Consequently, there has been doubt as to whether MMC are active and serve a functional role in the expulsion of rat intestinal nematodes. MMC contain and secrete a neutral proteinase, rat mast cell protease II (RMCPII)10–13; detection and assay of secreted RMCPII therefore provides a direct measurement of MMC activity. Here we describe the release of this enzyme into the blood of rats infected with N. brasiliensis or T. spiralis. Our results show that the systemic secretion of RMCP II coincides with the immune expulsion of these nematodes, demonstrating clearly for the first time that rat MMC are functionally active during the immune elimination of primary nematode infections.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98122, USA

    R. G. Woodbury

  2. Department of Pathology, Moredun Research Institute, 408 Gilmerton Rd, Edinburgh, EH17 7JH, UK

    H. R. P. Miller, J. F. Huntley & G. F. J. Newlands

  3. Department of Zoology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    A. C. Palliser & D. Wakelin

Authors
  1. R. G. Woodbury
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  2. H. R. P. Miller
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  3. J. F. Huntley
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  4. G. F. J. Newlands
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  5. A. C. Palliser
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  6. D. Wakelin
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Woodbury, R., Miller, H., Huntley, J. et al. Mucosal mast cells are functionally active during spontaneous expulsion of intestinal nematode infections in rat. Nature 312, 450–452 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/312450a0

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