Critical protective role of mast cells in a model of acute septic peritonitis

Mast cells play a detrimental role in IgE-dependent allergic reactions. In contrast, a protective function for mast cells has been proposed on the basis of some worm infection models. No reports exist on the in vivo significance of these cells in bacterial infections. Here we use congenitally mast-c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1996-05, Vol.381 (6577), p.75-77
Main Authors: Echtenacher, Bernd, Männel, Daniela N, Hültner, Lothar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Analysis of the immune response. Humoral and cellular immunity
Animals
Antibody production
Bacteria
Biological and medical sciences
Bone Marrow Cells
Caecum
Cells, Cultured
Cellular biology
Disease Models, Animal
Erythrocyte Count
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Fundamental immunology
Hematocrit
Immunobiology
Mast Cells - immunology
Mast Cells - transplantation
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Peritonitis - immunology
Rodents
Sepsis - immunology
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - pharmacology
Tumors
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Summary:Mast cells play a detrimental role in IgE-dependent allergic reactions. In contrast, a protective function for mast cells has been proposed on the basis of some worm infection models. No reports exist on the in vivo significance of these cells in bacterial infections. Here we use congenitally mast-cell-deficient W/Wv mice and normal +/+ littermates to analyse the role of mast cells in a model of acute septic peritonitis (caecum ligation and puncture (CLP)). Following CLP, W/Wv mice showed a significantly increased mortality compared to +/+ mice. The selective reconstitution of W/Wv mice with cultured +/+ mast cells substantially protected them from the lethal effects of CLP, whereas an anti-tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF) antibody injected immediately after CLP completely suppressed this protection. Our results reveal a previously unrecognized protective role of mast cells and mast-cell-derived TNF in acute bacterial peritonitis.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/381075a0