Adherent peritoneal mononuclear cells express chloroacetate esterases in vitro

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Cell Biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Murine peritoneal adherent mononuclear cells are involved in immune responses.
• Esterase activity is a marker for certain cell types and their differentiation states.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the esterase expression profile of murine peritoneal adherent mononuclear cells.
• To determine if schistosome infection influences esterase activity and cell differentiation in vitro.

Main Methods:

• Elicitation of peritoneal cells using glass implants in mice.
• Enzyme histochemical staining for nonspecific esterases (alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase) and chloroacetate esterases (naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase).
• In vitro culture of cells for nine days.

Main Results:

• Peritoneal cells from normal mice expressed nonspecific esterases.
• Cells from normal mice cultured in vitro showed a decrease in nonspecific esterase activity and an increase in chloroacetate esterase activity.
• Peritoneal cells from schistosome-infected mice expressed chloroacetate esterases after in vitro culture.
• Schistosome-infected cells exclusively showed chloroacetate esterase activity, with no nonspecific esterase activity detected.

Conclusions:

• Modulation of esterase expression in cultured murine peritoneal cells suggests in vitro differentiation.
• Schistosome infection significantly impacts the esterase profile of these cells, promoting a specific differentiation pathway.