Local injection of recombinant human stem cell factor promotes human skin mast cell survival and neurofibroma cell proliferation in the transplanted neurofibroma in nude mice.

We studied the effects of stem cell factor (SCF) on human skin mast cell (HSMC) survival and the proliferation of neurofibroma (NF) cells in transplanted NF in nude mice. Small pieces of cutaneous NF from a patient with von Recklinghausen's disease were transplanted subcutaneously into nude mice. Recombinant human SCF (10 or 100 ng) was injected six or seven times around the NF transplantation sites over 11 days (i.e. every other day). The number of HSMCs was reduced in vehicle-injected NF compared to the amount present before transplantation. In contrast, NF-transplanted animals that were injected with SCF (10 or 100 ng) showed preservation of mast cell numbers in the tissue. Using computerized image analysis, mast cell size in SCF-treated NF transplants was significantly altered (larger at the 10 ng dose, and smaller at the 100 ng dose) compared with the size before transplantation or in vehicle-injected tissue. Furthermore, at the higher SCF dose (100 ng) PCNA-positive NF cells showed a significant increase. These results indicate that HSMCs in transplanted NF tissue retain their capacity to respond to SCF in vivo, and that SCF contributes to the regulation of both HSMC survival and size in cutaneous NF. In addition, activated HSMCs induced by SCF may be involved in the growth of cutaneous NF in von Recklinghausen's disease. Thus, this experimental model may be useful in the study of the cellular interactions between HSMCs and other stromal cells in cutaneous NF.