Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, Vol. 48, 1705-1716, December 2000, Copyright © 2000, The Histochemical Society, Inc.
Distinct Aggregation of ß- and
-Chains of the High-affinity IgE Receptor on Cross-Linking
Koichi Asaia,
Kazushi Fujimotob,c,e,
Masashi Harazakia,
Takashi Kusunokia,
Seigo Korematsua,
Chizuka Ideb,
Chisei Rad, and
Susumu Hosoia
a Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
b Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University
c Laboratory for Neural Architecture, Brain Science Institute, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken)
d Department of Immunology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
e CREST Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence to:
Kazushi Fujimoto, Section of Physiological Anatomy, Fukui Prefectural U. Faculty of Nursing and Welfare, 4-1-1 Kenjojima, Matsuoka-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui 910-1195, Japan. E-mail: fujimoto@fpu.ac.jp
The high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc
RI) on mast cells and basophils consists of a ligand-binding
-chain and two kinds of signaling chains, a ß-chain and disulfide-linked homodimeric
-chains. Crosslinking by multivalent antigen results in the aggregation of the bound IgE/
-chain complexes at the cell surface, triggering cell activation, and subsequent internalization through coated pits. However, the precise topographical alterations of the signaling ß- and
-chains during stimulation remain unclarified despite their importance in ligand binding/signaling coupling. Here we describe the dynamics of Fc
RI subunit distribution in rat basophilic leukemia cells during stimulation as revealed by immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopy. Immunolocalization of ß- and
-chains was homogeneously distributed on the cell surfaces before stimulation, while crosslinking with multivalent antigen, which elicited optimal degranulation, caused a distinct aggregation of these signaling chains on the cell membrane. Moreover, only
- but not ß-chains were aggregated during the stimulation that evoked suboptimal secretion. These findings suggest that high-affinity IgE receptor ß- and
-chains do not co-aggregate but for the most part form homogenous aggregates of ß-chains or
-chains after crosslinking.
(J Histochem Cytochem 48:17051715, 2000)
Key Words:
mast cells/basophils, Fc receptors, immunogold electron microscopy