Establishment of a mast cell line, NCL-2, without Kit mutation, derived from NC mouse bone marrow

• Main Authors: Takaaki Hiragun, Yuhki Yanase, Tsutomu Okabe, Makiko Hiragun, Mikio Kawai, Michihiro Hide
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2014-01-01
• Series: FEBS Open Bio
• Subjects: Mast cells; Kit; FcεRI; Stem cell factor; IL-3
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211546314000345
• ISSN: 2211-5463

Immortal mast cell lines, such as RBL-2H3 and HMC-1 cells, are commonly utilized to investigate the function of mast cells. However, they are tumor cells carrying a gain-of-function mutation of Kit. We established an immortal mast cell line without Kit mutation, NCL-2, derived from NC mouse bone marrow. NCL-2 cells could be maintained without additional growth factors and thus could respond to exogenous growth signals. Moreover, NCL-2 cells expressed FcεRI and KIT, and release histamine and LTB4 in response to antigen stimulation. This cell line could be a useful tool to analyze proliferation, differentiation, and function of normal mast cells.