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Measurement of Exocytosis in Genetically Manipulated Mast Cells

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Exocytosis and Endocytosis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2233))

Abstract

The hallmark of mast cell activation is secretion of immune mediators by regulated exocytosis. Measurements of mediator secretion from mast cells that are genetically manipulated by transient transfections provide a powerful tool for deciphering the underlying mechanisms of mast cell exocytosis. However, common methods to study regulated exocytosis in bulk culture of mast cells suffer from the drawback of high signal-to-noise ratio because of their failure to distinguish between the different mast cell populations, that is, genetically modified mast cells versus their non-transfected counterparts. In particular, the low transfection efficiency of mast cells poses a significant limitation on the use of conventional methodologies. To overcome this hurdle, we developed a method, which discriminates and allows detection of regulated exocytosis of transfected cells based on the secretion of a fluorescent secretory reporter. We used a plasmid encoding for Neuropeptide Y (NPY) fused to a monomeric red fluorescent protein (NPY-mRFP), yielding a fluorescent secretory granule-targeted reporter that is co-transfected with a plasmid encoding a gene of interest. Upon cell trigger, NPY-mRFP is released from the cells by regulated exocytosis, alongside the endogenous mediators. Therefore, using NPY-mRFP as a reporter for mast cell exocytosis allows either quantitative, via a fluorimeter assay, or qualitative analysis, via confocal microscopy, of the genetically manipulated mast cells. Moreover, this method may be easily modified to accommodate studies of regulated exocytosis in any other type of cell.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Ofir Klein

    Present address: Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

  2. Nurit P. Azouz

    Present address: Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ofir Klein, Nurit P. Azouz & Ronit Sagi-Eisenberg

Authors
  1. Ofir Klein
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  2. Nurit P. Azouz
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  3. Ronit Sagi-Eisenberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronit Sagi-Eisenberg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, Institut Cochin (Institut National de la santé et de la recherche médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université de Paris), Paris, France

    Florence Niedergang

  2. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Nicolas Vitale

  3. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Stéphane Gasman

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Klein, O., Azouz, N.P., Sagi-Eisenberg, R. (2021). Measurement of Exocytosis in Genetically Manipulated Mast Cells. In: Niedergang, F., Vitale, N., Gasman, S. (eds) Exocytosis and Endocytosis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2233. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1044-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1044-2_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1043-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1044-2

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