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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Analyzing the Functions of Mast Cells In Vivo Using 'Mast Cell Knock-in' Mice
Published on: May 27, 2015
Reconstitution of the mast cell population in W/Wv mice
Jörg Ebmeyer1, Umay Ebmeyer, Kwang Pak
1Department of Otorhinoloaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Klinikum Bielefeld (Academic Teaching Hospital University of Münster), Bielefeld, Germany. Joerg.Ebmeyer@klinikumbielefeld.de
Hypothesis:
Intravenous injection of cultured mast cells (MCs) can reconstitute the MC population in MC-deficient mice. We hypothesize that injected culture-derived MCs do not repopulate all tissues equally.
Background:
Mast cells are central elements not only in anaphylaxis and allergy but also in immune reactions to bacteria and other pathogens. Their broad involvement in innate immunity requires extensive research in the future. Studies of MC function often use MC-deficient mice to compare with wild-type animals. A very elegant method to prove that the observed changes are due to the lack of MCs is to compare results in wild-type mice, MC-deficient mice, and MC-deficient mice that have been reconstituted with cultured MCs. Reconstitution of the MC population can be achieved by intravenous injection of MCs into MC-deficient mice. Whether the injected MCs repopulate the desired tissues has to be proven before this model is used. Also, the time frame of the reconstitution has to be demonstrated.
Methods:
Mast cell-deficient mice were injected with bone marrow-derived cultured MCs, and the mucosa of middle ear (MEs), nose, and tracheobronchial system was analyzed for MCs 4, 6, 8, 10, and 20 weeks after injection.
Results:
Reconstitution of the ME mucosa was complete and persistent for more than 20 weeks. Reconstitution failed in nasal mucosa. In bronchial mucosa, reconstitution was incomplete and transient.
Conclusion:
This model can be used to investigate effects of MCs in various immune reactions in the ME. Studies should use the time frame 6 to 8 weeks after reconstitution of the MC population. However, the model has limitations for investigations in the respiratory tract.
