The lacrimal gland undergoes significant structural and functional deterioration with aging. Marked with increased inflammation and fibrosis, the aged lacrimal gland is unable to perform its protective function. As a result, the ocular surface becomes highly susceptible to various ocular surface pathologies, including corneal epitheliopathy. We and others have previously shown that mast cells mediate tissue inflammation by recruiting other immune cells. However, despite their well-known characteristics of secreting various inflammatory mediators, whether mast cells contribute to the immune cell aggregation and activation, and acinar dystrophy of the aged lacrimal gland has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate the role of mast cells in age-related lacrimal gland pathophysiology using mast cell-deficient (cKit^w-sh) mice. Our data demonstrated a significant increase in mast cell frequencies and immune cell infiltration in the lacrimal gland of aged mice. Interestingly, mast cell deficiency resulted in a substantial reduction in inflammation and preservation of lacrimal gland structure, suggesting that mast cells mediate the aging process of the lacrimal gland.

随着年龄的增长，泪腺的结构和功能会发生显着的恶化。老化的泪腺以炎症和纤维化加剧为特征，无法发挥其保护功能。结果，眼表变得非常容易受到各种眼表病变的影响，包括角膜上皮病。我们和其他人之前已经证明，肥大细胞通过招募其他免疫细胞来介导组织炎症。然而，尽管肥大细胞具有分泌各种炎症介质的众所周知的特性，但肥大细胞是否有助于免疫细胞聚集和激活以及老化泪腺的腺泡营养不良尚未得到研究。在这里，我们使用肥大细胞缺陷（cKit ^w-sh ）小鼠证明了肥大细胞在与年龄相关的泪腺病理生理学中的作用。我们的数据表明，老年小鼠泪腺中肥大细胞频率和免疫细胞浸润显着增加。有趣的是，肥大细胞缺陷导致炎症大幅减少并保留泪腺结构，这表明肥大细胞介导了泪腺的衰老过程。