Krishnaswamy G, Kelley J, Johnson D, Youngberg G, Stone W, Huang S K, Bieber J, Chi D S
The Department of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614-1709, USA.
Front Biosci. 2001 Sep 1;6:D1109-27. doi: 10.2741/krishnas.
Mast cells are multifunctional, tissue-dwelling cells capable of secreting a wide variety of mediators. They develop from bone marrow-derived progenitor cells, primed with stem cell factor (SCF), which mediates its actions by interacting with the SCF receptor or c-kit on the cell surface. Mast cells continue their maturation and differentiation in peripheral tissue, developing into two well described subsets of cells, MCT and MCTC cells, varying in content of tryptase and chymase as well as in immunobiology. Mast cells are activated by numerous stimuli, including antigen (acting via the high affinity IgE receptor, Fc?RI), superoxides, complement proteins, neuropeptides and lipoproteins resulting in activation and degranulation. Following activation, these cells express mediators such as histamine, leukotrienes and prostanoids, as well as proteases, and many cytokines and chemokines, pivotal to the genesis of an inflammatory response. Recent data suggests that mast cells may play an active role in such diverse diseases as atherosclerosis, malignancy, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis and arthritis. Mast cells directly interact with bacteria and appear to play a vital role in host defense against pathogens. Drugs, such as glucocorticoids, cyclosporine and cromolyn have been demonstrated to have inhibitory effects on mast cell degranulation or mediator release.
肥大细胞是多功能的驻留组织细胞，能够分泌多种介质。它们由骨髓来源的祖细胞发育而来，在干细胞因子（SCF）的作用下启动发育，SCF通过与细胞表面的SCF受体或c-kit相互作用来介导其作用。肥大细胞在外周组织中继续成熟和分化，发育成两个已被充分描述的细胞亚群，即MCT和MCTC细胞，它们在类胰蛋白酶和糜酶的含量以及免疫生物学方面存在差异。肥大细胞可被多种刺激激活，包括抗原（通过高亲和力IgE受体Fc?RI起作用）、超氧化物、补体蛋白、神经肽和脂蛋白，从而导致激活和脱颗粒。激活后，这些细胞会表达诸如组胺、白三烯和前列腺素等介质，以及蛋白酶、许多细胞因子和趋化因子，这些对于炎症反应的发生至关重要。最近的数据表明，肥大细胞可能在动脉粥样硬化、恶性肿瘤、哮喘、肺纤维化和关节炎等多种疾病中发挥积极作用。肥大细胞直接与细菌相互作用，并且似乎在宿主抵御病原体的防御中发挥重要作用。已证明糖皮质激素、环孢素和色甘酸等药物对肥大细胞脱颗粒或介质释放具有抑制作用。
