Histamine release and calcium concentrations in rat mast cells are dependent on intracellular ATP: effects of prostaglandin D2

Immune Metabolism in TH2 Responses: New Opportunities to Improve Allergy Treatment - Disease-Specific Findings (Part 1)

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Recent high-level publications have shown an intricate connection between immune effector function and the metabolic state of the respective cells. In the last years, studies have begun analyzing the metabolic changes associated with allergies. As the first part of a two-article series, this review will briefly summarize the basics of immune metabolism and then focus on the recently published studies on metabolic changes observed in allergic patients.

RECENT FINDINGS

In the last 3 years, immune-metabolic research in allergology had a clear focus on asthma with some studies also reporting findings in food allergy and atopic dermatitis. Current results suggest asthma to be associated with a shift in cellular metabolism towards increased aerobic glycolysis (Warburg metabolism), while also displaying substantial changes in fatty acid- and amino acid metabolism (depending on investigated patient collective, asthma phenotype, and disease severity). Understanding immune-metabolic changes in allergies will allow us to (I) better understand allergic disease pathology and (II) modulate immune-metabolic pathways to improve allergy treatment.

Anemoside B4 protects against IgE-dependent allergic responses by suppressing the PLC/IP3 and JAK/STAT3 pathways

Anemoside B4 (AB4) is a natural triterpenoid abundant in the roots of Pulsatilla chinensis. Although various biological activities have been widely attributed to AB4, few studies have focused on its antiallergic effects. In this study the inhibitory effects of AB4 on immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergic responses were investigated, both in vitro and in vivo, and the mechanism of its effects. IgE-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis was used to elucidate the antiallergic effects of AB4 in vivo. The degranulation assay, calcium imaging, and cytokine and chemokine release in the laboratory of allergic disease 2 (LAD2) cell line were used to evaluate the antiallergic effect of AB4 in vitro. Pathological staining was performed to analyze angiectasis. Western blot analysis was performed to investigate the downstream signaling pathways. AB4 dose-dependently attenuated ovalbumin/IgE-induced paw swelling in mice, and reduced the serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and C-C motif chemokine 2. In addition, AB4 suppressed IgE-mediated LAD2 cell degranulation, calcium influx, and PLC/IP3 and JAK/STAT3 phosphorylation. Our results suggest that AB4 inhibits allergic reactions through the PLC/IP3 and JAK/STAT3 pathways.

Inhibition of Complex I of the Respiratory Chain, but Not Complex III, Attenuates Degranulation and Cytokine Secretion in Human Skin Mast Cells

The mechanisms of mast cell (MC) degranulation and MC-driven skin symptoms are well-described. In contrast, data about the role of mitochondrial respiration for immune functions of human skin MCs are lacking. Oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in primary human skin MCs during IgE-mediated activation in the absence of glucose was examined using a metabolic flux analyzer. Effects of the inhibition of mitochondrial complex I (by rotenone A) and III (by myxothiazol) on degranulation and cytokine secretion (IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, TNF-α, and GM-CSF) were explored by the β-hexosaminidase release assay and multiplex ELISA. IgE-mediated activation rapidly increased the mitochondrial OCR and extracellular acidification; the contribution of non-mitochondrial oxygen consumption remained unchanged at lower levels. Both myxothiazol and rotenone A reduced OCR, the mitochondrial parameters, and extracellular acidification; however, myxothiazol did not affect degranulation and cytokine secretion. In contrast, degranulation and the secretion of IL-6, IL-13, TNF-α, and GM-CSF were reduced by rotenone A, whereas the secretion of IL-4 and IL-5 was not significantly affected. The inhibitors did not affect cell viability. Our results highlight the important role played by mitochondrial respiration in primary human skin MCs and allow for a conclusion on a hierarchy of their effector functions. Drugs targeting specific pathways in mitochondria may provide future options to control MC-driven skin symptoms.

Immune metabolism in allergies, does it matter?-A review of immune metabolic basics and adaptations associated with the activation of innate immune cells in allergy

Type I allergies are pathological, type 2 inflammatory immune responses against otherwise harmless environmental allergens that arise from complex interactions between different types of immune cells. Activated immune cells undergo extensive changes in phenotype and function to fulfill their effector functions. Hereby, activation, differentiation, proliferation, migration, and mounting of effector responses require metabolic reprogramming. While the metabolic changes associated with activation of dendritic cells, macrophages, and T cells are extensively studied, data about the metabolic phenotypes of the other cell types critically involved in allergic responses (epithelial cells, eosinophils, basophils, mast cells, and ILC2s) are rather limited. This review briefly covers the basics of cellular energy metabolism and its connection to immune cell function. In addition, it summarizes the current state of knowledge in terms of dendritic cell and macrophage metabolism and subsequently focuses on the metabolic changes associated with activation of epithelial cells, eosinophils, basophils, mast cells, as well as ILC2s in allergy. Interestingly, the innate key cell types in allergic inflammation were reported to change their metabolic phenotype during activation, shifting to either glycolysis (epithelial cells, M1 macrophages, DCs, eosinophils, basophils, acutely activated mast cells), oxidative phosphorylation (M2 macrophages, longer term activated mast cells), or fatty acid oxidation (ILC2s). Therefore, immune metabolism is of relevance in allergic diseases and its connection to immune cell effector function needs to be considered to better understand induction and maintenance of allergic responses. Further progress in this field will likely improve both our understanding of disease pathology and enable new treatment targets/strategies.

Inhibiting Glycolysis and ATP Production Attenuates IL-33-Mediated Mast Cell Function and Peritonitis

Cellular metabolism and energy sensing pathways are closely linked to inflammation, but there is little understanding of how these pathways affect mast cell function. Mast cells are major effectors of allergy and asthma, and can be activated by the alarmin IL-33, which is linked to allergic disease. Therefore, we investigated the metabolic requirements for IL-33-induced mast cell function, to identify targets for controlling inflammation. We found that IL-33 increases glycolysis, glycolytic protein expression, and oxidative phosphorylation (OX PHOS). Inhibiting OX PHOS had little effect on cytokine production, but antagonizing glycolysis with 2-deoxyglucose or oxamate suppressed inflammatory cytokine production in vitro and in vivo. ATP reversed this suppression. Glycolytic blockade suppressed IL-33 signaling, including ERK phosphorylation, NFκB transcription, and ROS production in vitro, and suppressed IL-33-induced neutrophil recruitment in vivo. To test a clinically relevant way to modulate these pathways, we examined the effects of the FDA-approved drug metformin on IL-33 activation. Metformin activates AMPK, which suppresses glycolysis in immune cells. We found that metformin suppressed cytokine production in vitro and in vivo, effects that were reversed by ATP, mimicking the actions of the glycolytic inhibitors we tested. These data suggest that glycolytic ATP production is important for IL-33-induced mast cell activation, and that targeting this pathway may be useful in allergic disease.

Different role of cAMP pathway on the human mast cells HMC-1(560) and HMC-1(560,816) activation

HMC-1 are inflammatory cells that release vasoactive substances such as histamine. These cells have the c-kit receptor permanently activated in the membrane due to mutations in the proto-oncogene c-kit: Val-560 → Gly and Asp-816 → Val. Thus, there are two known cellular lines: HMC-1(560) and HMC-1(560,816) . These mutations are involved in a disease called mastocitosys. In the present paper both lines were used to study the influence of cAMP/PKA/PDEs pathway on the histamine release and Ca(2+) signaling since this pathway is often involved in these process. For this, the cells were preincubated with cAMP/PKA/PDEs modulators such as dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP), forskolin, H89, rolipram, IBMX, or imidazole and then stimulated with ionomycin. When cells were stimulated with agents that increase cAMP levels, the histamine release was not modified in HMC-1(560) but decreased in HMC-1(560,816) cells. The same happened when PKA was blocked. Furthermore, PDEs role on histamine release was independent of cAMP in HMC-1(560) cells and possibly also in HMC-1(560,816) cells. By contrast, the modulation of PKA and PDEs together changed the response in both cellular lines, therefore a relationship between them was suggested. All these modulatory effects on histamine release are Ca(2+) -independent. On the other hand, the effect of c-kit modulation on the cAMP/PKA/PDEs pathway was also checked. This receptor was blocked with STI571 (imatinib) and BMS-354825 (dasatinib), but only the last one caused a decrease in the cellular response to ionomycin. This article demonstrates for the first time than the cAMP/PKA/PDEs pathway is involved in the activation of HMC-1(560) and HMC-1(560,816) cells.

Mitochondrial STAT3 plays a major role in IgE-antigen-mediated mast cell exocytosis

BACKGROUND

The involvement of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in mast cell exocytosis was recently suggested by the finding that mitochondria translocate to exocytosis sites upon mast cell activation. In parallel, mitochondrial signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was found to be involved in ATP production. However, the regulation of mitochondrial STAT3 function and its connection to mast cell exocytosis is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to explore the role played by mitochondrial STAT3 in mast cell exocytosis.

METHODS

Experiments were performed in vitro with human and mouse mast cells and rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells and in vivo in mice. OXPHOS activity was measured after immunologic activation. The expression of STAT3, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and protein inhibitor of activated STAT3 in the mitochondria during mast cell activation was determined, as was the effect of STAT3 inhibition on OXPHOS activity and mast cell function.

RESULTS

Here we show that mitochondrial STAT3 is essential for immunologically mediated degranulation of human and mouse mast cells and RBL cells. Additionally, in IgE-antigen-activated RBL cells, mitochondrial STAT3 was phosphorylated on serine 727 in an extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-dependent manner, which was followed by induction of OXPHOS activity. Furthermore, the endogenous inhibitor of STAT3, protein inhibitor of activated STAT3, was found to inhibit OXPHOS activity in the mitochondria, resulting in inhibition of mast cell degranulation. Moreover, mice injected with Stattic, a STAT3 inhibitor, had a significant decrease in histamine secretion.

CONCLUSION

These results provide the first evidence of a regulatory role for mitochondrial STAT3 in mast cell functions, and therefore mitochondrial STAT3 could serve as a new target for the manipulation of allergic diseases.

PKC and cAMP positively modulate alkaline-induced exocytosis in the human mast cell line HMC-1

We study in HMC-1 the activation process, measured as histamine release. We know that ammonium chloride (NH(4)Cl) and ionomycin release histamine, and the modulatory role of drugs targeting protein kinase C (PKC), adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), tyrosine kinase (TyrK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) on this effect. We used Gö6976 (100 nM) and low concentration of GF 109203X (GF) (50 nM) to inhibit Ca(2+)-dependent PKC isozymes. For Ca(2+)-independent isozymes, we used 500 nM GF and 10 microM rottlerin (specifically inhibits PKCdelta). Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) (100 ng/ml) was used to stimulate PKC, and genistein (10 microM) and lavendustin A (1 microM) as unspecific TyrK inhibitors. STI571 10 microM was used to specifically inhibit the activity of Kit, the receptor for stem cell factor, and 10 nM wortmannin as a PI3K inhibitor. Activation of PKC with PMA enhances histamine release in response to NH(4)Cl and ionomycin. PMA increases NH(4)Cl-induced alkalinization and ionomycin-induced Ca(2+) entry. Inhibition of PKCdelta strongly inhibits Ca(2+) entry elicited by ionomycin, but failed to modify histamine release. The effect of cAMP-active drugs was explored with the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin (30 microM), the inhibitor SQ22,536 (1 microM), the cAMP analog dibutyryl cAMP (200 microM), and the PKA blocker H89 (1 microM). Forskolin and dibutyryl cAMP do increase NH(4)Cl-induced alkalinization, and potentiate histamine release elicited by this compound. Our data indicates that alkaline-induced exocytosis is modulated by PKC and cAMP, suggesting that pH could be a modulatory signal itself.

Prostaglandin E potentiates the immunologically stimulated histamine release from human peripheral blood-derived mast cells through EP1/EP3 receptors

BACKGROUND

Mast cells cultured from human peripheral blood have been widely used to study human mast cell function. Prostanoids are the important regulators of mast cell activity, however, there were no reports about the class of prostanoid receptors expressed on such cultured cells.

AIMS

The present study was to characterize pharmacologically the prostanoid receptors by investigating the effects of prostanoid receptor agonists on the immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated histamine release from the cultured mast cells.

METHODS

Mast cells cultured from human progenitor cells in peripheral blood were sensitized with human myeloma IgE, and then challenged with anti-human IgE following pretreatment with diverse prostanoid receptor agonists. The histamine content in supernatants and cell pellets were measured by histamine auto-analyzer.

RESULTS

Of the prostanoid receptor agonists tested, the prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) receptor (EP receptor) agonist PGE2 (10(-7) to 10(-11) M) produced concentration-related potentiation of IgE-mediated histamine release from the cultured mast cells. Sulprostone, an EP1/EP3 agonist, SC-46275, a selective EP3 agonist, and 11-deoxy-PGE1, a selective EP2/EP3/EP4 agonist also caused a significant increase in histamine release induced by anti-IgE. BW245C, fluprostone, cicaprost and U46619 for the prostaglandin D2, F2alpha, I2, and thromboxane A2 receptors respectively, and the EP2/EP4 receptor agonist butaprost had little effect on anti-IgE stimulated histamine release from mast cells.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results suggest that PGE2 potentiates the IgE-mediated histamine release from the cultured mast cell via EP3 and/or EP1 receptors.

Functional compartments in rat mast cells for cAMP and calcium on histamine release

The crosstalk between 3', 5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), intracellular calcium, and histamine release in rat mast cells using the stimulatory effect of three different drugs, thapsigargin, sodium fluoride (NaF), and compound 48/80 were studied. Each of these drugs induces histamine release by different mechanisms. The transducting pathways modulating cAMP and intracellular calcium levels were modified by using, cholera toxin (CTX) which ADP-rybosylates Gs-protein, pertussis toxin (PTX) which ADP-rybosylates Gi-protein, and okadaic acid (OA) which inhibits phosphatases 1 and 2a. Our results show that CTX increased cAMP levels and inhibited histamine release elicited by thapsigargin and compound 48/80. The inhibitory effect of CTX on histamine release was potentiated by OA in the presence of compound 48/80 but was decreased in the presence of thapsigargin. Calcium uptake was stimulated by NaF and compound 48/80. The previous treatment with OA increased calcium uptake when combined with compound 48/80 but not with NaF. Treatment with NaF highly stimulated calcium uptake and cAMP levels only when combined with OA and CTX. These results suggest that the modulatory effect of intracellular calcium and cAMP on histamine release depend more on the crosstalk of the activated signal transducting pathway than on the final level of calcium or cAMP, further supporting the theory that rat mast cells are divided into functionally distinct compartments.

Characterization of prostanoid receptors mediating inhibition of histamine release from anti-IgE-activated rat peritoneal mast cells

1. Prostanoid receptors mediating inhibition of anti-IgE induced histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells have been characterized pharmacologically. PGD2 and the specific DP receptor agonists BW 245C and ZK 118182 were the most potent inhibitors with half-maximal concentrations of 0.26, 0.06 and 0.02 microM respectively. The maximum inhibition attainable was 60-65% with 10(-5) M BW 245C and ZK 118182. 2. Among several EP receptor agonists investigated, only PGE2 and the EP2/EP3 receptor agonist misoprostol induced significant inhibition (46.8 +/- 4.7% at 10(-4) M and 18.7 +/- 6.8% at 10(-5) M respectively). The IP receptor agonists cicaprost and iloprost were both less potent than the DP agonists in inhibiting histamine release (45.2 +/- 3.3% and 35.1 +/- 2.5% inhibition respectively at 10(-5) M), whereas PGF2 alpha and the TP receptor agonist U-46619 were only marginally effective. 3. The EP4/TP receptor antagonist AH 23848 failed to affect the inhibitory actions of PGD2 or PGE2 even at 10(-5) M, whereas the DP/EP1/EP2 receptor antagonist AH 6809 slightly enhanced the effect of PGD2 at 10(-6) M. 4. At concentrations of 3 x 10(-6) to 10(-5) M, the putative DP receptor antagonist ZK 138357 dose-dependently suppressed the inhibitory activities of the DP agonists, PGE2 and cicaprost. The antagonism of ZK 138357 against the DP receptor agonists appeared to be competitive with pA2 values of around six. 5. In conclusion, these data support our earlier proposal that an inhibitory DP receptor is the predominant prostanoid receptor in rat peritoneal mast cell. The properties of this receptor in relation to putative DP receptor subtypes reported in the literature are discussed.

Effect of a chymotrypsin-like inhibitor, TPCK, on histamine release from cultured human mast cells

The involvement of endogenous proteases in the secretory process from human mast cells remains to be clarified. A chymotrypsin-like protease inhibitor, N-tosyl-L-phenylalanylchloromethyl ketone (TPCK), blocked both FceRI- and A23187-mediated histamine release from cultured human mast cells at concentrations above 1 microM. At 10 microM, the concentration that completely inhibited FceRI-mediated histamine release, TPCK did not inhibit the chymase activity of the lysate or that in intact cells. The addition of TPCK to cells 30 min before challenge did not affect FceRI- or A23187-mediated Ca2+ mobilization. These findings suggest that a TPCK-sensitive molecule distinct from chymase is involved in a late stage of the process of histamine release from mast cells in man.

On the mechanism of action of ethodin in inducing myometrium contractions

1. Ethodin (Rivanol, 6,9-diamino-2-oxyethyl acridine lactate), has been described as an effective drug to induce uterine contractions similar to those in a physiologic labor in still-birth with uterine inertia. We investigate the mechanisms involved in the effect of this compound in contracting the smooth-muscle cells of the myometrium to improve our understanding of the processes involved in the onset of labor. 2. We conclude that the contractile effect of ethodin is mediated through the activation of uterine mast cells that release mediators able to contract the myometrium.