Tumour necrosis factor stimulates human skin mast cells to release histamine and tryptase

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Abstract
Besides its effects on tumour cells, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) also acts on a variety of other cells, thus enhancing inflammatory and immune processes. In view of the prominent role of the mast cell in such processes, the aim of the present study was to assess the effects of recombinant TNF-α on human mast cells. Mast cells from the infant foreskin obtained during circumcision were dispersed by an enzymatic technique using collagenasc and hyaluronidase. Cells thus obtained were pooled, washed and separated by Percoll gradient centrifugation. Mast cells, with a purity of 70 90% were incubated for 60 min with 10-11 to 10-7MrTNF-α. Histamine and tryptase levels were assessed in the cell supernatant by spectrofluorometry and radioimmunoassay (RIA) respectively. A concentration dependent release of histamine was observed, which reached a maximum of 11·5 ± 2·2 nmol/106 cells at 10-8 MrTNF. Release of tryptase was also concentration dependent and reached a maximum of 293±105 mU/106 cells (10-8 rTNF). rTNF-α thus appears to be a direct stimulus for mast cells to degranulale and to release both histamine and tryptase.