Mast cells (MCs) are primarily recognized for their roles in allergic diseases, although they also participate in other health and disease processes. These cells accumulate at the sites of Th2 cell activation and initiate immediate hypersensitivity reactions. During IgE-associated biological responses, antigen-specific IgE antibodies bound to FcepsilonRI on the plasma membrane of MCs undergo antigen-dependent cross-linking, leading to the secretion of biologically active products involved in allergic reactions. These products include vasoactive amines (histamines), neutral proteases (chymases), proteoglycans (heparans), and various cytokines and growth factors through a process called degranulation (1).
Allergy Marker Detection Kits
| Product | Catalog # | Price (USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mouse MCP-1 Detection Kit | 6046 | 389.00 |
Mouse mast cell protease-1 (mMCP-1) is a beta-chymase, a type of serine protease stored and secreted by intestinal mucosal mast cells, which are found in the intestinal epithelium (2). It shares 74% of its amino acid homology with its rat counterpart, rat mast cell protease-II (rMCP-II) (3).
mMCP-1 serves as a marker for mast cell activation and degranulation. Although it is expressed constitutively and is detectable in the sera of normal mice, parasites in the gut cause systemic levels to increase dramatically within two days and peak at two weeks following infection (4). Deficiency in mMCP-1 is associated with significantly delayed expulsion of Trichinella spiralis, indicating its important role in the host defense against intestinal parasites (5). Elevated mMCP-1 levels are also observed during intestinal allergic hypersensitivity reactions and have been reported as a marker for food allergy models (6). The mechanism is not fully understood, although it has been shown to be a tight junction-breaking protease, thus increasing the permeability of the small intestine (7).
References
- S. J. Galli, M. Tsai, IgE and mast cells in allergic disease. Nat. Med 18, 693704 (2012).
- G.P. Pejler, E. Rφnnberg, I. Waern, S. Wernersson, Mast cell proteases: multifaceted regulators of inflammatory disease. Blood 115 (24): 49814990 (2010).
- H. Trong, G. Newlands, H. Miller, H. Charbonneau, H. Neurath, R. Woodbury, Amino acid sequence of a mouse mucosal mast cell protease. Biochemistry 28(1):391-5 (1989)
- J. Wastling, C. Scudamore, E. Thornton, G. Newlands, H. Miller, Constitutive expression of mouse mast cell protease?1 in normal BALB/c mice and its up?regulation during intestinal nematode infection. Immunology, 90(2), 3 (1997).
- P. Knight, S. Wright, C. Lawrence, Y. Paterson, H. Miller, Delayed expulsion of the nematode Trichinella spiralis in mice lacking the mucosal mast cellspecific granule chymase, mouse mast cell protease-1. J Exp Med, 192(12), (2000).
- K. Vaali, T. Puumalainen, M. Lehto, H. Wolff, H. Rita, H. Alenius, T. Palosuo, Murine model of food allergy after epicutaneous sensitization: role of mucosal mast cell protease-1. Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology, 41(12), 1405-1 (2006).
- J. McDermott, R. Bartram, P. Knight, H. Miller, D. Garrod, R. Grencis, Mast cells disrupt epithelial barrier function during enteric nematode infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(13), 7761-7766 (2003).