Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2009
Journal/Book/Conference Title
World Allergy Organization Journal
Volume
2
DOI of Original Publication
10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181c2a95e
Date of Submission
August 2014
Abstract
Mast cells are well known as principle effector cells of type I hypersensitivity responses. Beyond this role in allergic disease, these cells are now appreciated as playing an important role in many inflammatory conditions. This review summarizes the support for mast cell involvement in resisting bacterial infection, exacerbating autoimmunity and atherosclerosis, and promoting cancer progression. A commonality in these conditions is the ability of mast cells to elicit migration of many cell types, often through the production of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor. However, recent data also demonstrates that mast cells can suppress the immune response through interleukin-10 production. The data encourage those working in this field to expand their view of how mast cells contribute to immune homeostasis.
Rights
© 2009 World Allergy Organization; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Is Part Of
VCU Biology Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181c2a95e