The Role of the CCL2/CCR2 Axis in Mouse Mast Cell Migration In Vitro and In Vivo

Tissue-resident mast cells (MCs) are important in allergic diseases. In a mouse model of allergic airways inflammation, an increase in peribronchiolar MCs was associated with increased concentrations of the chemokine CCL2 in lung lavage. MC progenitors (MCps) arising in bone marrow (BM) are recruited to tissues by transendothelial migration, and we found that CCL2 is chemotactic for MCps in freshly isolated BM in vitro. Immature, but not mature, BM-derived MCs migrated in response to CCL2 when cultured in IL-3+stem cell factor (SCF) but not when cultured in IL-3 alone. However, the cells under both culture conditions expressed mRNA for CCR2, the receptor for CCL2, and bound the radiolabeled chemokine with similar affinities, highlighting SCF as a key mediator in coupling CCR2 to downstream events, culminating in chemotaxis. Immature BM-derived MCs from IL-3 +SCF cultures, when administered i.v., accumulated at skin sites injected with CCL2 in vivo. MCp recruitment to the allergen-sensitized/challenged lung was significantly reduced in CCR2−/− and CCL2−/− mouse strains. However, reconstitution studies of sublethally irradiated and BM-reconstituted mice indicated that BM cells and stromal elements could provide CCL2, whereas the CCR2 function resided with stromal elements rather than BM cells. These experiments revealed a new function of SCF in chemokine receptor coupling, but they suggest a complex role of the CCL2/CCR2 axis in recruiting MCps during pulmonary inflammation.