AUTHOR=Sabaté San José Alba , Petersen Petur Henry 

TITLE=Absence of meningeal mast cells in the Mitf mutant mouse

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

VOLUME=18

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2024.1337621

DOI=10.3389/fncel.2024.1337621

ISSN=1662-5102

ABSTRACT=<p>Mast cells (MCs) are located in the meninges of the central nervous system (CNS), where they play key roles in the immune response. MC-deficient mice are advantageous in delineating the role of MCs in the immune response <italic>in vivo</italic>. In this study, we illustrate that a mutation in microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (<italic>Mitf</italic>) affects meningeal MC number in a dosage-dependent manner. C57BL/6J <italic>Mitf</italic> null mice lack meningeal MCs completely, whereas heterozygous mice have on average 25% fewer MCs. <italic>Mitf</italic> heterozygous mice might be a valuable tool to study the role of MCs in the meninges.</p>