Abstract
Cytokine-activation pathways in mast cells are supposed to play a significant role in host defense mechanisms and allergic reactions. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is a well-characterized regulator of growth and function of mast cells. The human mast cell line HMC-1 was established from a patient suffering from mast cell leukemia and was shown to expose IL-4 binding sites. In the present study, the effects of recombinant human (rh) IL-4 and other rh cytokines (IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-8) on expression of cytokine mRNA in HMC-1 cells were examined by Northern blot analysis using oligonucleotide probes. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-1β transcripts were found to be expressed constitutively in HMC-1 cells, whereas transcripts for IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) could not be detected. Of all cytokines tested, rhIL-4 was found to down-regulate IL-1β mRNA expression and formation of immunoreactive IL-1β protein in HMC-1 cells. The effect of IL-4 on IL-1β gene product expression was time- and dose-dependent (maximum effects obtained with 100 U/mL of rhIL-4). No effect of IL-4 on expression of TNF-α mRNA in HMC-1 cells was observed. These results raise the possibility that human mast cells are a source of both TNF-α and IL-1β. Furthermore, our study provides evidence that IL-4 regulates IL-1β gene product expression in HMC-1 cells. The HMC-1 cell line should be a useful tool for studying cytokine activation pathways in human mast cells.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1271-1275 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Experimental Hematology |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 9 |
State | Published - 1993 |
Keywords
- Cytokines
- Cytotoxicity
- IL-1
- IL-4
- Mast cells
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Hematology
- Genetics
- Cell Biology
- Cancer Research