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Impaired Mast Cell-Driven Immune Responses in Mice Lacking the Transcription Factor NFATc2¹

Marc Becker^*, Valeska Heib, Matthias Klein^*, Fatma Doener^*, Tobias Bopp^*, Christian Taube, Markus Radsak, Hansjörg Schild^*, Edgar Schmitt^* and Michael Stassen^2,*

^* Institute for Immunology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; and Third Medical Clinic, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

The three calcium-dependent factors NFATc1, c2, and c3 are expressed in cells of the immune system and play pivotal roles in modulating cellular activation. With regard to NFATc2, it was reported that NFATc2-deficient mice display increased immune responses in several models for infection and allergy in vivo. This led to the assumption that NFATc2 is involved in the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Using the synthetic TLR7 agonist imiquimod as an adjuvant in epicutaneous peptide immunization, we observed that both the inflammatory reaction and the peptide-specific CTL response are severely impaired in NFATc2-deficient mice. Detailed analyses revealed that early production of proinflammatory cytokines, lymph node hypertrophy, and migration of Langerhans cells are strongly reduced in NFATc2-deficient animals. With the aid of mast cell-deficient mice and reconstitution experiments using mast cells derived from either NFATc2-deficient mice or wild-type controls, we were able to show that NFATc2 expressed in mast cells is critical for the initiation of inflammation, migration of Langerhans cells, and the development of full-blown CTL responses following epicutaneous immunization. Thus, NFATc2 is an important factor controlling mast cell accessory function at the interface of innate and adaptive immunity.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grants STA 984/1-1 and SFB548, A10 (M.S.), A11 (C.T.), and A6 (E.S.).

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. Michael Stassen, Institute for Immunology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Hochhaus am Augustusplatz, 55131 Mainz, Germany. E-mail: stassenm{at}uni-mainz.de

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: CTL, cytotoxic T lymphocyte; BMMC, Bone marrow-derived mast cell; DC, dendritic cell; HGPRT, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase; LC, Langerhans cell; LN, lymph node; PCA, passive cutaneous anaphylaxis; TCI, transcutaneous immunization; KC, keratinocyte chemoattractant.