The chemokine receptor CCR1 is identified in mast cell-derived exosomes

Mast cells are important effector cells of the immune system, and mast cell-derived exosomes carrying RNAs play a role in immune regulation. However, the molecular function of mast cell-derived exosomes is currently unknown, and here, we identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in mast cells and exosomes. We isolated mast cells derived exosomes through differential centrifugation and screened the DEGs from mast cell-derived exosomes, using the GSE25330 array dataset downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Biochemical pathways were analyzed by Gene ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway on the online tool DAVID. DEGs-associated protein-protein interaction networks (PPIs) were constructed using the STRING database and Cytoscape software. The genes identified from these bioinformatics analyses were verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot in mast cells and exosomes. We identified 2121 DEGs (843 up and 1278 down-regulated genes) in HMC-1 cell-derived exosomes and HMC-1 cells. The up-regulated DEGs were classified into two significant modules. The chemokine receptor CCR1 was screened as a hub gene and enriched in cytokine-mediated signaling pathway in module one. Seven genes, including CCR1, CD9, KIT, TGFBR1, TLR9, TPSAB1 and TPSB2 were screened and validated through qRT-PCR analysis. We have achieved a comprehensive view of the pivotal genes and pathways in mast cells and exosomes and identified CCR1 as a hub gene in mast cell-derived exosomes. Our results provide novel clues with respect to the biological processes through which mast cell-derived exosomes modulate immune responses.