That mast cells and allergic mechanisms play at least some role in bronchial asthma has been suggested for at least 75 years [92]. The incidence of these mechanisms in a cross section of all asthmatics [31, 77], and the importance of allergic mechanisms as compared with neural mechanisms is controversial, however, and has been discussed and debated for at least as long [16, 113].

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Mast cells and basophils.

Animal model of sclerotic skin. I: Local injections of bleomycin induce sclerotic skin mimicking scleroderma

Scleroderma, a debilitating acquired connective tissue disease, is characterized by fibrosis, particularly of the skin and lungs. Monocyte-produced TGF-beta1, a potent stimulus for collagen synthesis, is thought to drive the fibrosis. Here, we thoroughly characterize a murine sclerodermatous graft-vs-host disease (Scl GVHD) model for scleroderma that reproduces important features of scleroderma including skin thickening, lung fibrosis, and up-regulation of cutaneous collagen mRNA, which is preceded by monocyte infiltration and the up-regulation of cutaneous TGF-beta1 mRNA. Most importantly, we can prevent fibrosis in both the skin and lungs of mice with Scl GVHD by inhibiting TGF-beta with neutralizing Abs. The murine Scl GVHD model provides the unique opportunity to study basic immunologic mechanisms that drive fibrosing diseases and GVHD itself and will be useful for testing new therapies for these diseases.

Anti-TGF-beta treatment prevents skin and lung fibrosis in murine sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease: a model for human scleroderma.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotropic polypeptide necessary for the survival and growth of some central neurons, as well as sensory afferent and sympathetic neurons. Much is now known of the structural and functional characteristics of NGF, whose gene has recently been cloned. Since it is synthesized in largest amounts by the male mouse submandibular gland, its role exclusively in nerve growth is questionable. NGF also causes histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells in vitro, and we have shown elsewhere that it causes significant, dose-dependent, generalized mast cell proliferation in the rat in vivo when administered neonatally. Our experiments now indicate that NGF causes a significant stimulation of granulocyte colonies grown from human peripheral blood in standard hemopoietic methylcellulose assays. Further, NGF appears to act in a relatively selective fashion to induce the differentiation of eosinophils and basophils/mast cells. Depletion experiments show that the NGF effect may be T-cell dependent and that NGF augments the colony-stimulating effect of supernatants from the leukemic T-cell (Mo) line. The hemopoietic activity of NGF is blocked by polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to NGF. We conclude that NGF may indirectly act as a local growth factor in tissues other than those of the nervous system by causing T cells to synthesize or secrete molecules with colony-stimulating activity. In view of the synthesis of NGF in tissue injury, the involvement of basophils/mast cells and eosinophils in allergic and other inflammatory processes, and the association of mast cells with fibrosis and tissue repair, we postulate that NGF plays an important biological role in a variety of repair processes.

Nerve growth factor promotes human hemopoietic colony growth and differentiation.

The limiting factor for successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a post-transplant disorder that results from immune-mediated attack of recipient tissue by donor T cells contained in the transplant. Mouse models of GvHD have provided important insights into the pathophysiology of this disease, which have helped to improve the success rate of HSCT in humans. The kinetics with which GvHD develops distinguishes acute from chronic GvHD, and it is clear from studies of mouse models of GvHD (and studies of human HSCT) that the pathophysiology of these two forms is also distinct. Mouse models also further the basic understanding of the immunological responses involved in GvHD pathology, such as antigen recognition and presentation, the involvement of the thymus and immune reconstitution after transplantation. In this Perspective, we provide an overview of currently available mouse models of acute and chronic GvHD, highlighting their benefits and limitations, and discuss research and clinical opportunities for the future.

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R A Clark

Papers

Chronic graft-versus-host disease as a model for scleroderma: II. Mast cell depletion with deposition of immunoglobulins in the skin and fibrosis