Monitoring exocytosis from single mast cells by fast voltammetry (original) (raw)

Compound versus multigranular exocytosis in peritoneal mast cells

Journal of General Physiology, 1990

We have used the whole-cell patch-pipette technique to measure the step increases in the cell membrane capacitance (equivalent to the membrane area) caused by the fusion of secretory granules in degranulating murine mast cells. We have observed that up to 30% of the total membrane expansion caused by degranulation results from large fusion events that cannot be explained by the fusion of single secretory granules. These large events are observed mainly in the initial phase of a degranulation. We have developed a simple mathematical model for a mast cell to test whether these large events are caused by a stimulus-induced, granule-to-granule fusion that occurs before their exocytosis (multigranular exocytosis). Our results suggest that the large fusion events are caused by the exocytosis of granule aggregates that existed before stimulation and that are located at the cell's periphery. We propose a novel mechanism by which granule aggregates can be formed at the periphery of the c...

Relationship between fusion pore opening and release during mast cell exocytosis studied with patch amperometry

Biochemical Society Transactions, 2008

We have studied exocytosis in rat peritoneal mast cells by cell-attached patch amperometry. Step increases in capacitance were accompanied by typical amperometric spikes due to the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), indicating exocytosis of typical mast cell granules. We have measured the time course of fusion pore expansion, and correlated it with release from the granule matrix. The fusion pore of mast cell granules grows in three stages. The initial expansion of the pore occurred at a rate of 5 nS/s, and in many cases an observable amperometric foot was detected. A second, rapid expansion phase occurred with a rate as high as 1000 nS/s, coinciding with the upstroke of the amperometric spike. A third, slower phase, with a rate of 5 nS/s, completed the final expansion of the fusion pore. These data reveal the very late stages in the exocytotic process, and demonstrate that the size of the fusion pore does not limit release during the upstroke of the amperometric spike or d...

Anaphylactic Degranulation of Mast Cells: Focus on Compound Exocytosis

Journal of Immunology Research, 2019

Anaphylaxis is a notorious type 2 immune response which may result in a systemic response and lead to death. A precondition for the unfolding of the anaphylactic shock is the secretion of inflammatory mediators from mast cells in response to an allergen, mostly through activation of the cells via the IgE-dependent pathway. While mast cells are specialized secretory cells that can secrete through a variety of exocytic modes, the most predominant mode exerted by the mast cell during anaphylaxis is compound exocytosis—a specialized form of regulated exocytosis where secretory granules fuse to one another. Here, we review the modes of regulated exocytosis in the mast cell and focus on compound exocytosis. We review historical landmarks in the research of compound exocytosis in mast cells and the methods available for investigating compound exocytosis. We also review the molecular mechanisms reported to underlie compound exocytosis in mast cells and expand further with reviewing key find...

Flow Cytometry in Mastocytosis

Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, 2014

This article presents information for the identification and characterization of mast cells from bone marrow and other tissues using multiparametric flow cytometry. In addition, it provides guidelines for the application of this technique in the subclassification of systemic mastocytosis and assessment of the long-term prognosis of patients individually.

Dermal mast cells in mastocytosis: fixation, distribution and quantitation

Acta Dermato-Venereologica

The mast cell distribution and number were studied in skin biopsies of 18 mastocytosis patients and 10 controls. The biopsies were stained for mast cells with toluidine blue at pH 0.5. The number in the upper dermis of lesional abdominal skin was at least twice as high as that of normal adjacent skin. Fixation in iso-osmotic 0.6% formaldehyde and 0.5% acetic acid, revealed more mast cells than conventional 4% formaldehyde fixation. Staining for 5 days, when compared to the normal for 30 min, increased the number of demonstrable mast cells just as did the change in fixation. Conventional formaldehyde fixation thus partially blocks the dye-binding of cutaneous mast cells, about 20% of the cells escaping detection. The degree of aldehyde blocking was similar in lesional and normal skin. A more pronounced blocking of dye-binding has been demonstrated previously in gut mucosal mast cells. Whether the blocking of dye-binding is an expression of heterogeneity in dermal mast cells remains t...