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. 1993 Jun;79(2):319–324.

Mast cells retain their responsiveness upon continuous and repetitive exposure to antigen.

M Shalit 1, D Pickholz 1, F Levi-Shaffer 1
PMCID: PMC1421870  PMID: 7688343

Abstract

To assess the effects of prolonged and repetitive exposure of antigen on mast cells (MC) we utilized our co-culture system in which rat peritoneal MC are kept viable and functionally active on 3T3 fibroblasts. MC were presensitized with IgE anti-dinitrophenyl-human serum albumin (anti-DNP-HSA), activated with the relevant antigen (DNP-HSA) (69.4% histamine release) and incubated for 7 days in medium alone or medium containing the antigen with or without Ca2+ ions. During the prolonged incubation MC released only small amounts of histamine (20-26 ng/plate/day) under all the different culture conditions. Moreover, these MC were not activated after each medium replacement with fresh antigen. When activated MC cultured in medium containing antigen and Ca2+ were presensitized prior to a second challenge performed on days 1, 2, 5 and 7, they released 35-45% histamine but were still partially desensitized compared to initially challenged MC. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that the MC unresponsiveness to a second challenge could be partially attributed to lack of membrane-associated IgE antibodies. Repetitive activation (four times) of MC at daily intervals did not abrogate their releasing capacity although the intracellular histamine content was diminished. When repetitive activation was performed 2 and 4 hr after the first challenge, a more intense MC refractoriness was observed (release of 17.3% and 21.1% histamine respectively versus 67.7%). It is suggested that MC activation occurs even after continuous exposure to antigen and that MC can respond to repetitive immunological stimulation.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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