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As tissue-resident immune cells, mast cells are frequently found in close proximity to afferent neurons and are subjected to immunoactive mediators secreted by these neurons, including substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Neurogenic inflammation is thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. Unraveling the cellular mechanisms at the interface between the immune response and the peripheral nervous system is important for understanding how these diseases arise and progress. In this work, mast cell degranulation following direct exposure to CGRP and SP was studied both at the bulk and single-cell levels to characterize the mouse peritoneal mast cell response to neuropeptides and compare this response to well-studied mast cell activation pathways. Results show that mast cells secrete fewer chemical messenger-filled granules with increased IgE preincubation concentrations. The biophysical characteristics of mast cell degranulation in response to SP and CGRP is in many ways similar to calcium ionophore-induced mast cell degranulation; however, neuropeptide-stimulated mast cells secrete reduced chemical messenger content per secretion event, resulting in an overall relative decrease in secreted chemical messengers.

Mast cells play a significant role in both the innate and adaptive immune response; however, the tissue-bound nature of mast cells presents an experimental roadblock to performing physiologically relevant mast cell experiments. In this work, a heterogeneous cell culture containing primary culture murine peritoneal mast cells (MPMCs) was studied to characterize the time-dependence of mast cell response to allergen stimulation and the time- and concentration-dependence of the ability of the heterogeneous MPMC culture to uptake and degranulate exogenous serotonin using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to an electrochemical detector. Additionally, because mast cells play a central role in asthma, MPMCs were exposed to CXCL10 and CCL5, two important asthma-related inflammatory cytokines that have recently been shown to induce mast cell degranulation. MPMC response to both allergen exposure and cytokine exposure was evaluated for 5-HT secretion and bioactive lipid formation using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to an electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). In this work, MPMC response was shown to be highly regulated and responsive to subtle alterations in a complex environment through time- and concentration-dependent degranulation and bioactive lipid formation. These results highlight the importance of selecting an appropriate mast cell model when studying mast cell involvement in allergic response and inflammation.

Sickle cell disease, caused by a mutation of hemoglobin, is characterized by a complex pathophysiology including an important inflammatory component. Mast cells are tissue-resident leukocytes known to influence a range of immune functions in a variety of different ways, largely through the secretion of biologically active mediators from preformed granules. However, it is not understood how mast cells influence the inflammatory environment in sickle cell disease. A notable consequence of sickle cell disease is severe pain. Therefore, morphine is often used to treat this disease. Because mast cells express opioid receptors, it is pertinent to understand how chronic morphine exposure influences mast cell function and inflammation in sickle cell disease. Herein, carbon-fiber microelectrode amperometry (CFMA) was used to monitor the secretion of immunoactive mediators from single mast cells. CFMA enabled the detection and quantification of discrete exocytotic events from single mast cells. Mast cells from two transgenic mouse models expressing human sickle hemoglobin (hBERK1 and BERK) and a control mouse expressing normal human hemoglobin (HbA-BERK) were monitored using CFMA to explore the impact of sickle-cell-induced inflammation and chronic morphine exposure on mast cell function. This work, utilizing the unique mechanistic perspective provided by CFMA, describes how mast cell function is significantly altered in hBERK1 and BERK mice, including decreased serotonin released compared to HbA-BERK controls. Furthermore, morphine was shown to significantly increase the serotonin released from HbA-BERK mast cells and demonstrated the capacity to reverse the observed sickle-cell-induced changes in mast cell function.