PASSIVE CUTANEOUS ANAPHYLAXIS AND VASOACTIVE AMINE CHALLENGE IN NUDE(NU-NU) MICE - COMPARISON WITH NU-+, AXENIC AND YOUNG NORMAL ANIMALS

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 32  (1) , 89-94
Abstract
Recent suggestions of a thymic origin or thymo-dependent differentiation of tissue mast cells prompted an investigation in the athymic nude (nu/nu) mouse. The outbred nu/nu examined possessed mast cells in at least comparable numbers to the phenotypically normal nu/+. The nu/nu mice were superior to nu/+ mice as recipients for mast cell-dependent, long latent period (IgE[immunoglobulin E]-type), passive cutaneous anaphylactic (PCA) reactions. A variety of studies performed, including competition with nu/+ [mouse] serum, thymic restoration, quantitation of nu/+ [mouse] homocytotropic antibody responses, comparison with axenic or young mice and time-course studies of skin sensitization suggested that the higher PCA titers in nu/nu mouse skin were not entirely due to a lack of competitive inhibition of mast-cell sensitization. The nu/+ mice used in these studies were poor IgE recipients, but were somewhat more sensitive than nu/nu mice to hypovolemic shock induced by histamine and serotonin mixtures. Pretreatment with Bordetella pertussis greatly enhanced the sensitivity of nu/+, axenic, holoxenic and young normal mice to the vasoactive effects of histamine and serotonin, but was somewhat less effective in nu/nu and old mice.