IMMUNOLOGICALLY MEDIATED INTESTINAL MASTOCYTOSIS IN NIPPOSTRONGYLUS-BRASILIENSIS-INFECTED RATS

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 38  (1) , 95-101
Abstract
To investigate mast-cell proliferation mechanisms, Lewis rats were infected with the intestinal nematode, N. brasiliensis, which induces pronounced intestinal mast-cell hyperplasia. Adoptive transfer of 2 .times. 108 immune mesenteric lymph node cells (IMLN), collected 14 days post-infection with 3000 third stage larvae (L3), into rats concurrently given 3000 L3 hastened expected intestinal mastocytosis by up to 4-5 days. IMLN exhibited this mastopoietic activity in the presence but not in the absence of concurrent infection. Normal mesenteric lymph nodes cells did not show similar mastopoietic activity. Intestinal mastocystosis was delayed by sub-lethal irradiation (400 rad) but IMLN reconstituted the mast-cell response of such animals. Mastopoietic activity could not be attributed to worm antigen as antigen administered i.v. had no significant effect on mastocytosis and antigen could not be detected in mastopoietically active IMLN suspensions used as a possible antigen source in passive cutaneous anaphylaxis tests. Immune serum (14 days post primary infection with 3000 L3) hastened mastocytosis in infected rats, whereas normal serum did not. IMLN may be an enriched source of intestinal mast cell precursors and may contain a cell type(s) which regulates differentiation and proliferation of such precursors.