Mast cells are innate immune cells that function as regulatory or effector cells and serve to amplify adaptive immunity. These cells also function in adaptive immunity primarily through cell surface Fc receptors that bind immunoglobulin antibodies. The dysregulation of their adaptive role makes them central players in allergy and asthma. Upon encountering an allergen (antigen), which is recognized by immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies bound to the high affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) expressed on their cell surface, mast cells secrete both preformed and newly synthesized mediators of the allergic response. Blocking of these responses is an objective in therapeutic intervention of allergic diseases. Thus, understanding the mechanisms by which antigens elicit mast cell activation (via FcεRI) holds promise towards identifying therapeutic targets. Here we review the most recent advances in understanding antigen-dependent mast cell activation. Specifically, we focus on the requirements for FcεRI activation; the regulation of calcium responses; co-stimulatory signals in FcεRI-mediated mast cell activation and function; and how genetics influences mast cell signaling and responses. These recent discoveries open new avenues of investigation with therapeutic potential.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-27 signal through a shared receptor subunit and employ the same downstream STAT transcription proteins, but yet are ascribed unique and overlapping functions. To evaluate the specificity and redundancy for these cytokines, we quantified their global transcriptomic changes and determined the relative contributions of STAT1 and STAT3 using genetic models and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) approaches. We found an extensive overlap of the transcriptomes induced by IL-6 and IL-27 and few examples in which the cytokines acted in opposition. Using STAT-deficient cells and T cells from patients with gain-of-function STAT1 mutations, we demonstrated that STAT3 is responsible for the overall transcriptional output driven by both cytokines, whereas STAT1 is the principal driver of specificity. STAT1 cannot compensate in the absence of STAT3 and, in fact, much of STAT1 binding to chromatin is STAT3 dependent. Thus, STAT1 shapes the specific cytokine signature superimposed upon STAT3's action.

SUMMARY The incidence of chronic allergic dermatitis is rapidly increasing. Regulatory control of this disease has not been adequately explored. Here we report that mast cell derived interleukin-2 (IL-2) contributes to the suppression of chronic allergic dermatitis. Mice deficient in IL-2 production, or deficient in mast cells (KitW-sh/W-sh), showed exacerbated dermatitis upon repeated oxazolone challenge when compared to their wild-type counterparts. Adoptive transfer of wild type, but not Il2−/−, mast cells into KitW-sh/W-sh mice dampened the inflammatory response. During the course of disease mast cell expansion occurred at the site of inflammation and also in the spleen, where production of IL-2 by mast cells was markedly enhanced. In the absence of mast cell IL-2 production, the ratio of activated to regulatory T cells at the site of inflammation was increased. Thus, MC-derived IL-2 contributes to the maintenance of suppression in chronic allergic skin inflammation.