Mast cells and basophils in allergic inflammation
Section snippets
Mast cells and basophils
Mast cells and basophils were first described by Paul Ehrlich more than 130 years ago as blood leukocytes showing similar morphological characteristics using aniline dye staining. In addition to their morphological similarity, they are now known to have similar functions and developmental processes, and to be potent effector cells in innate immune responses, whose normal physiological function is protection from parasitic worms (helminths) and ticks. Both cell types are generally associated
Mast cell function in allergic responses
Mast cells express the receptor tyrosine kinase c-Kit and contain many cytosolic granules. They are generally located in the blood vessels and in tissues that form a barrier, such as the skin, the intestine and the gills [1,2,3]. The granules are strongly stained with basic pigments due to the presence of highly sulfated heparin and also contain biogenic amines (histamine and serotonin), serglycin, proteoglycans, mast cell-derived proteases (chymase and tryptase), and lipid mediators (platelet
Basophil function in allergic responses
Basophils have large granules that stain dark purple with basic pigments such as methylene blue and toluidine rather than the blue color seen with mast cells. The granules contain histamine, heparin, and hyaluronic acid, which are released during an allergic reaction and cause anaphylactic shock and bronchial asthma. Basophils also express cell surface FcεRI, and its cross-linking with allergen causes degranulation to release a set of cytokines and chemical mediators. Basophils of mice and
Allergic asthma induced by cysteine proteases
The dust mite endopeptidase allergen Derp1 and certain plant allergens with cysteine protease activity, e.g., papain, are major causes of allergic asthma. Depletion of basophils in Bas-TRECK mice resulted in resolution of the eosinophilia and mucus production induced by nasal administration of a protease allergen (Figure 1) [59••]. A series of analyses of transcriptional regulatory elements in the Il4 gene indicated that the 3'UTR contains a basophil-specific enhancer and its deletion caused
Concluding remarks
Recent studies demonstrated that mast cells and basophils had different contribution in innate and adaptive allergic responses. Mast cells mainly controlled IgE-dependent acute allergic responses, while basophils controlled IgE-mediated chronic responses and IgE-independent allergic inflammation. Role of basophils in the capacity to induce Th2 responses is long lasting question. This mechanism is now explained by direct regulation as antigen presenting cells and/or by indirect regulation via
References and recommended reading
Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review, have been highlighted as
• of special interest
•• of outstanding interest
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. P. Burrows for helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (24249058) to M.K.
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