2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

The study of CD11c expression by overexpressed PU.1 in mast cells

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24791178
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Dermatology
Research Institution	Tokyo Medical University
Principal Investigator	ITO Tomonobu 東京医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (70398767)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Keywords	IL-33 / MHC class II / CD11ｃ / PU.1 / 肥満細胞
Research Abstract	We reported that over-expression of PU.1, a myeloid- and lymphoid-specific transcription factor belonging to the Ets family, induces monocyte-specific gene expression in mast cells. In order to identify the factor mediating differentiation into CD11c positive mast cells, we focused our research on fibroblasts co-existing within the dermal structure to determine whether the growth factors secreted by these fibroblasts could induce differentiation into dendritic cell-like cells. Mast cells co-cultured with fibroblasts did fail to express monocyte-specific genes. However, the addition of IL-33 to the co-culture induced MHC class II expression in the mast cells. In conclusion, IL-33 induced MHC class II expression via PU.1.