Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer System
A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2004

Published online before print January 14, 2004
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (Reprint (PDF))
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
jlb.0603275v1
75/4/579    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Frossi, B.
Right arrow Articles by Pucillo, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Frossi, B.
Right arrow Articles by Pucillo, C.
© by The Society for Leukocyte Biology
Journal of Leukocyte Biology, doi:10.1189/jlb.0603275

Received for publication June 15, 2003.
Revised October 28, 2003.
Accepted for publication November 3, 2003.

Article

The mast cell: an antenna of the microenvironment that directs the immune response

Barbara Frossi *{dagger}, Marco De Carli *{ddagger}, and Carlo Pucillo *{dagger}@

*Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, and {dagger}M.A.T.I. Center of Excellence, Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy; and {ddagger}S.O.C. Medicina 2, Azienda Ospedaliera Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy

@ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cpucillo{at}makek.dstb.uniud.it.


arrow
Abstract

Mast cells (MCs) have long been considered as critical effector cells during immunoglobulin (Ig)E-mediated allergic disease and immune response to parasites. Recent studies, however, suggest that this understanding of MC function is incomplete and does not consider the complex roles that MCs play in adaptive and innate immunity. The added function gives an innovative vision of regulation of immune responses and the development of autoimmune diseases. It had been assumed that the aggregation of Fc {varepsilon} receptor I with IgE and specific antigen is the main stimulus able to induce the MC activation, degranulation, release, and generation of mediators of the allergic reaction. However, MCs exhibit an array of molecules involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, mediating delivery of costimulatory signals that empower those cells with an ability to react to multiple nonspecific and specific stimuli. Their tissue distribution and their capability to release many cytokines after stimulation indicate MCs as potential regulatory linkers between innate and acquired immunity. In this review, we will summarize some findings on the roles of MCs in innate and acquired immunity, on the molecular mechanism and signaling pathways, and on selective signals that induce discrete MC response and its ability to polarize adaptive-immune response.

Key Words: signal transduction • polarization • cytokines • Fc{varepsilon} receptor




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Leukoc. Biol.Home page
A. Ujike-Asai, A. Okada, Y. Du, M. Maruyama, X. Yuan, F. Ishikawa, Y. Motoo, K. Isobe, and H. Nakajima
Large defects of type I allergic response in telomerase reverse transcriptase knockout mice
J. Leukoc. Biol., August 1, 2007; 82(2): 429 - 435.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Immunol.Home page
B. Frossi, J. Rivera, E. Hirsch, and C. Pucillo
Selective Activation of Fyn/PI3K and p38 MAPK Regulates IL-4 Production in BMMC under Nontoxic Stress Condition
J. Immunol., February 15, 2007; 178(4): 2549 - 2555.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Am. Soc. Nephrol.Home page
J. R. Timoshanko, R. Kitching, T. J. Semple, P. G. Tipping, and S. R. Holdsworth
A Pathogenetic Role for Mast Cells in Experimental Crescentic Glomerulonephritis
J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., January 1, 2006; 17(1): 150 - 159.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]