Change in phospholipid composition of mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells during cultivation with fibroblasts

A mouse bone marrow-derived mast cell (BMMC) clone, designated as MC-MKM, was established. MC-MKM cells released histamine and generated lipid chemical mediators such as prostaglandin D2 or platelet-activating factor upon stimulation with IgE and antigen. It is known that BMMCs acquired the characteristics of connective tissue mast cells (CTMCs) during coculture with fibroblasts. In the present study, we found that cellular phospholipid composition changed drastically when MC-MKM cells were cultured for 2 weeks in the presence of mouse 3T3 fibroblasts. In MC-MKM cells, phosphatidylcholine was the predominant phospholipid class, followed by phosphatidylethanolamine. During coculture with fibroblasts for 2 weeks, total phospholipid content in MC-MKM cells increased 2.5-fold. Among major phospholipid classes, a percentage of phosphatidylethanolamine increased most dramatically in accordance with a decrease in that of phosphatidylcholine, while no appreciable change in composition of other phospholipids was observed. The phospholipid composition of cocultured MC-MKM cells was closer to that of rat peritoneal CTMCs than that of the starting MC-MKM cells. The present findings that BMMCs converted their phenotype into CTMC-like cells by the interaction with fibroblasts in terms of phospholipid composition are not contradictory to the previous observations that BMMCs changed into CTMC-like cells.