Expression of cytokines and proteases in mast cells in the lesion of subcapsular cell hyperplasia in mouse adrenal glands

To examine the possible roles of mast cells in the pathogenesis of subcapsu lar cell hyperplasia (SCH) in the adrenal glands of mice, we investigated t he expression of certain cytokines, including stem cell factor (SCF), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), nerve growth factor (NGF), and basic fi broblast growth factor (bFGF), and mast cell-specific proteases, such as mo use mast cell protease (mMCP)-2 and mMCP-7. The mRNAs of c-kit (SCF recepto r), bFGF TNF-alpha, mMCP-2, and mMCP-7 were expressed in both the adrenal g lands and the ml,use bone marrow-derived mast cells (mBMMCs). Immunoreactiv ities for cytokines (SCE NGF, TNF-alpha) and proteases (mMCP-2, mMCP-7) wer e exclusively located in the mast cells in SCH lesions. The immature mBMMCs did not express the mRNAs of SCF and NGF, whereas the mast cells in the SC H lesions showed the expression of SCF and NGF These findings suggest that SCH may provide a favorable microenvironment for functional maturation of m ast cells to produce SCF and NGF, and the mast cells in SCH lesions synthes ize SCF and NGF and may, in part, use them in autocrine fashion for their s urvival and differentiation. Therefore, mast cells may contribute to SCH pa thogenesis by producing a range of multifunctional cytokines and proteases.