TY - JOUR
T1 - A simple immunofluorescence technique for simultaneous visualization of mast cells and nerve fibers reveals selectivity and hair cycle-dependent changes in mast cell-nerve fiber contacts in murine skin
AU - Botchkarev, Vladimir A.
AU - Eichmüller, Stefan
AU - Peters, Eva M.J.
AU - Pietsch, Peter
AU - Johansson, Olle
AU - Maurer, Marcus
AU - Paus, Ralf
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements The generous support and advice of Prof. B. M. Henz, Prof. W. Sterry and Dr. F. Noser, and the technical assistance of R. Pliet, G. Holmkvist and E.-K. Johansson are gratefully acknowledged. This study was supported in part by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Pa 345/3-2 + 6-1) and Wella/Cosmital to R. P. and from the Medical Faculty of the Karolinska Institute to O. J., and by a visiting postdoctoral fellowship from the Swedish Cancer and Allergy Foundation to V.A.B.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - Close contacts between mast cells (MC) and nerve fibers have previously been demonstrated in normal and inflamed skin by light and electron microscopy. A key step for any study in MC-nerve interactions in situ is to simultaneously visualize both communication partners, preferably with the option of double labelling the nerve fibers. For this purpose, we developed the following triple-staining technique. After paraformaldehyde-picric acid perfusion fixation, cryostat sections of back skin from C57BL/6 mice were incubated with a primary rat monoclonal antibody to substance P (SP), followed by incubation with a secondary goat-anti-rat TRITC-conjugated IgG. A rabbit antiserum to CGRP was then applied, followed by a secondary goat-anti-rabbit FITC-conjugated IgG, MCs were visualized by incubation with AMCA-labelled avidin, or (for a more convenient quantification of close MC-nerve fiber contacts) with a mixture of TRITC-and FITC-labelled avidins. Using this simple, novel covisualization method, we were able to show that MC-nerve associations in mouse skin are, contrary to previous suggestions, highly selective for nerve fiber types, and that these interactions are regulated in a hair cycle-dependent manner: in telogen and early anagen skin, MCs preferentially contacted CGRP-immunoreactive (IR) or SP/CGRP-IR double-labelled nerve fibers. Compared with telogen values, there was a significant increase in the number of close contacts between MCs and tyrosine hydroxylase-IR fibers during late anagen, and between MCs and peptide histidine-methionine-IR and choline acetyl transferase-IR fibers during catagen.
AB - Close contacts between mast cells (MC) and nerve fibers have previously been demonstrated in normal and inflamed skin by light and electron microscopy. A key step for any study in MC-nerve interactions in situ is to simultaneously visualize both communication partners, preferably with the option of double labelling the nerve fibers. For this purpose, we developed the following triple-staining technique. After paraformaldehyde-picric acid perfusion fixation, cryostat sections of back skin from C57BL/6 mice were incubated with a primary rat monoclonal antibody to substance P (SP), followed by incubation with a secondary goat-anti-rat TRITC-conjugated IgG. A rabbit antiserum to CGRP was then applied, followed by a secondary goat-anti-rabbit FITC-conjugated IgG, MCs were visualized by incubation with AMCA-labelled avidin, or (for a more convenient quantification of close MC-nerve fiber contacts) with a mixture of TRITC-and FITC-labelled avidins. Using this simple, novel covisualization method, we were able to show that MC-nerve associations in mouse skin are, contrary to previous suggestions, highly selective for nerve fiber types, and that these interactions are regulated in a hair cycle-dependent manner: in telogen and early anagen skin, MCs preferentially contacted CGRP-immunoreactive (IR) or SP/CGRP-IR double-labelled nerve fibers. Compared with telogen values, there was a significant increase in the number of close contacts between MCs and tyrosine hydroxylase-IR fibers during late anagen, and between MCs and peptide histidine-methionine-IR and choline acetyl transferase-IR fibers during catagen.
KW - Avidin
KW - Hair cycle
KW - Mast cell
KW - Nerve fibers
KW - Neuropeptides
KW - Skin
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U2 - 10.1007/s004030050195
DO - 10.1007/s004030050195
M3 - Article
C2 - 9164640
AN - SCOPUS:0030755642
VL - 289
SP - 292
EP - 302
JO - Archives of Dermatological Research
JF - Archives of Dermatological Research
SN - 0340-3696
IS - 5
ER -