From the Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
World Allergy Organ J. 2009 Oct;2(10):224-32. doi: 10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181c2a95e.
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.
肥大细胞作为 I 型超敏反应的主要效应细胞而广为人知。除了在过敏性疾病中的作用之外，人们现在认识到这些细胞在许多炎症性疾病中也起着重要作用。这篇综述总结了肥大细胞在抵抗细菌感染、加重自身免疫和动脉粥样硬化以及促进癌症进展方面的作用的证据。这些情况下的一个共同点是肥大细胞能够通过产生肿瘤坏死因子等炎症细胞因子来引发多种细胞类型的迁移。然而，最近的数据也表明，肥大细胞可以通过产生白细胞介素-10 来抑制免疫反应。这些数据鼓励该领域的研究人员扩大对肥大细胞如何有助于免疫稳态的认识。
