Figure 3.

Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐β/δ (PPAR β/δ) suppresses proliferation of bone marrow‐derived mast cells (BMMCs) independent of cytokine‐withdrawal induced cell death. BMMCs were isolated from adult female Pparβ/δ ^+/+ and Pparβ/δ ^−/− mice, and cultured in media containing interleukin‐3 (IL‐3) for 4 weeks followed by co‐stimulation with IL‐3 and stem cell factor (SCF) for 2 weeks. (a) Relative growth rates of BMMCs from Pparβ/δ ^+/+ and Pparβ/δ ^−/− mice over time. (b) Relative proliferation of BMMCs over five cell divisions in Pparβ/δ ^+/+ and Pparβ/δ ^−/− mice as assessed by flow cytometry. Values were normalized to that of Pparβ/δ ^+/+ BMMCs. (c) The changes in survival rates of BMMCs from Pparβ/δ ^+/+ and Pparβ/δ ^−/− mice cultured in media without IL‐3 and SCF for up to 6 days, in the presence or absence of the PPAR β/δ specific agonist GW0742 (1 μm). (d) Quantification of BMMCs labelled with annexin V and 7‐aminoactinomycin D in response to depletion of IL‐3 and SCF for 6 days as assessed by flow cytometry. Values represent the mean ± SEM. *Significantly different than Pparβ/δ ^+/+, P ≤ 0·05. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary. com]