Mast cells are heterogeneous tissue-resident immune cells, with connective tissue mast cells (CTMCs) and mucosal mast cells in rodents exhibiting distinct phenotypes and activation profiles. Cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1), an immunoglobulin superfamily adhesion molecule, has been implicated in mast cell–nerve and mast cell–stromal interactions as well as in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. Here, we investigated CADM1 function in CTMCs using a monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of CADM1, termed 3E1. CTMCs were differentiated from bone marrow–derived mast cells (BMMCs) by fibroblast coculture, where CADM1 expression was markedly upregulated compared with BMMCs. Treatment with 3E1 downregulated CADM1 expression and suppressed β-hexosaminidase release from IgE-sensitized, antigen-stimulated CTMCs by 18%, whereas BMMCs were unaffected. In addition, 3E1 reduced FM4-64–positive granule formation in activated CTMCs by 34.2% and 27.3% at 5 and 60 min, respectively. Confocal analysis further showed that 3E1 pretreatment decreased F-actin rearrangement in activated CTMCs by 66.2% at 5 min. In a passive cutaneous anaphylaxis model, intravenous 3E1 reduced dermal mast cell degranulation by 10.4%. These findings identify CADM1 as a regulator of IgE-mediated degranulation in CTMCs and demonstrate 3E1 as a valuable tool for dissecting mast cell heterogeneity in relation to tissue localization.
Hagiyama et al. (Tue,) studied this question.