Christy Alison L, Brown Melissa A
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 303 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
J Immunol. 2007 Sep 1;179(5):2673-9. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.179.5.2673.
Among the potential outcomes of an aberrantly functioning immune system are allergic disease and autoimmunity. Although it has been assumed that the underlying mechanisms mediating these conditions are completely different, recent evidence shows that mast cells provide a common link. Mast cells reside in most tissues, are particularly prevalent at sites of Ag entry, and act as sentinel cells of the immune system. They express many inflammatory mediators that affect both innate and adaptive cellular function. They contribute to pathologic allergic inflammation but also serve an important protective role in bacterial and parasite infections. Given the proinflammatory nature of autoimmune responses, it is not surprising that studies using murine models of autoimmunity clearly implicate mast cells in the initiation and/or progression of autoimmune disease. In this review, we discuss the defined and hypothesized mechanisms of mast cell influence on autoimmune diseases, including their surprising and newly discovered role as anti-inflammatory cells.
免疫系统功能异常的潜在后果包括过敏性疾病和自身免疫性疾病。尽管一直认为介导这些病症的潜在机制完全不同，但最近的证据表明肥大细胞提供了一个共同的联系。肥大细胞存在于大多数组织中，在抗原进入部位尤为普遍，并作为免疫系统的哨兵细胞。它们表达许多影响先天性和适应性细胞功能的炎症介质。它们促成病理性过敏性炎症，但在细菌和寄生虫感染中也发挥重要的保护作用。鉴于自身免疫反应的促炎性质，使用自身免疫性小鼠模型的研究清楚地表明肥大细胞参与自身免疫性疾病的起始和/或进展也就不足为奇了。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了肥大细胞影响自身免疫性疾病的既定和假设机制，包括它们作为抗炎细胞的惊人且新发现的作用。
