Imaging of RBL-2H3 Cell Degranulation by Atomic Force Microscopy

Mast cells play an important role in the development of allergic disease, and RBL-2H3 cells, a subsystem of rat basophilic leukocytes (RBL), can express many of the properties and functions of mast cells. The use of atomic force microscope (AFM) in biology has gained increasing attention due to its high resolution and the fact that it can be manipulated and observed under near-physiological conditions. However, the physical changes of cell degranulation based on AFM still need to be studied. In this paper, the changes of cell physical parameters and cell membranes of RBL-2H3 cells during cell degranulation induced by anti-DNP IgE were recorded, and the recorded data were analysed. The results showed that the effect of anti-DNP IgE on RBL-2H3 cells varied with time, peaking at 8–12 hours.