Figure 3: Aberrant light/dark condition affects OCT3 expression in mast cells and plasma histamine levels.
From: Regulation of plasma histamine levels by the mast cell clock and its modulation by stress
(A) General locomotor activity of mice housed under a 10-hour light/10-hour dark (LD10/10) cycle (right) or a normal LD12/12 cycle (left). Locomotor activity was recorded as indicated by black dots over a 60-day period. Representative single-plotted actograms of mice are shown. In mice housed under a LD10/10 cycle, mice were kept under a consistent LD12/12 cycle in the first 7 days, and then were exposed to LD10/10 cycles for 60 days, as indicated by the black arrow on the right. Dark phase is indicated by blue shadow on each record. Please note the clear day-night differences in the locomoter activity of the mice kept under LD12/12 cycle (mice are nocturnal animals), but the activity became arrhythmic (random) in mice kept under LD10/10 cycle. (B) OCT3 and Per2 mRNA expression at ZT4 and ZT16 in the skin of mice housed under LD10/10 and LD12/12 cycles. (n = 6–8). (C) OCT3 protein expression at ZT4 and ZT16 in the peritoneal mast cells isolated from mice housed under LD10/10 and LD12/12 cycles. (n = 8–10). (D) Plasma histamine levels at ZT4 and ZT16 in mice housed under LD10/10 and LD12/12 cycles. (n = 8–10). The values represent means ± SD. *p < 0.05 (Unpaired student’s t-test) Similar results (A–D) were obtained at least from 2 independent experiments.
