Mast cell adhesion induces cytoskeletal modifications and programmed cell death in oligodendrocytes

Received 7 July 2009; received in revised form 13 October 2009; accepted 13 October 2009. published online 11 November 2009.

Abstract

In this paper we show that rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMC) adhere to rat oligodendrocytes (ODC) in culture and switch on a bi-directional signal affecting both adhering cell and its target. Following heterotypic interaction, RPMC release granule content and ODC show morphological changes and enter the apoptotic programme. Altogether, these findings indicate that the interaction of MC with ODC could play a role in the mechanism of CNS damage induced by the inflammatory reaction.

Keywords: Mast cell, Oligodendrocyte, Peptidyl-arginyl-deiminase, Cytoskeleton

a Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via A. Valerio, 28, 34127, Trieste, Italy

b Department of Biomedicine, University of Trieste, via A. Manzoni, 16, 34138 Trieste, Italy

c International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA), Basovizza, Trieste, Italy

Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0 40 558 4032; fax: +39 0 40 558 4023.

PII: S0165-5728(09)00403-2

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2009.10.011

9 of 22