Mast Cells: Fascinating but Still Elusive after 140 Years from Their Discovery

Varricchi, Gilda; Marone, Gianni

doi:10.3390/ijms21020464

Cited by 30 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 127 publications

(210 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This facilitates their capacity to be involved in regulating the functions of many tissues and organs [23,24]. There is increasing evidence that MCs play roles in organ development, skin barrier homeostasis, wound healing, angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, heart function, autoimmune diseases, and tumor initiation and progression [5,6,14,25].…”

Section: Mcs Origin and Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From being known for their detrimental role in allergic diseases, such as food allergies, asthma, and anaphylaxis, for decades; to now recognized as crucial players in a diverse array of physiological and pathologic functions, including vasodilation, angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, pathogen elimination, innate and adaptive immune responses, wound healing, and homeostasis. Moreover, MCs play an important role in many diseases, such as gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, malignancies, and cardiovascular diseases [3][4][5][6]. However, to this day, the pathophysiological roles of MCs are not well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mast Cells in Diabetes and Diabetic Wound Healing

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mast cells (MCs) are granulated, immune cells of the myeloid lineage that are present in connective tissues. Apart from their classical role in allergies, MCs also mediate various inflammatory responses due to the nature of their secretory products. They are involved in important physiological and pathophysiological responses related to inflammation, chronic wounds, and autoimmune diseases. There are also indications that MCs are associated with diabetes and its complications. MCs and MC-derived mediators participate in all wound healing stages and are involved in the pathogenesis of non-healing, chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). More specifically, recent work has shown increased degranulation of skin MCs in human diabetes and diabetic mice, which is associated with impaired wound healing. Furthermore, MC stabilization, either systemic or local at the skin level, improves wound healing in diabetic mice. Understanding the precise role of MCs in wound progression and healing processes can be of critical importance as it can lead to the development of new targeted therapies for diabetic foot ulceration, one of the most devastating complications of diabetes.

show abstract

Section: Mcs Origin and Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mast Cells in Diabetes and Diabetic Wound Healing

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several immune cells produce sPLA 2 [86][87][88], ANGPTs [15,17,18,24,70,89], VEGF-A [43,52,74,90], and VEGF-C/VEGF-D [52,74,91]. In this study, we did not address the issue of the contribution of different cells to the increased plasma levels of these powerful inflammatory mediators observed in patients with IHF or NIHF.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Angiopoietins, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors and Secretory Phospholipase A2 in Ischemic and Non-Ischemic Heart Failure

Varricchi

Loffredo

Bencivenga

et al. 2020

JCM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Heart failure (HF) is a growing public health burden, with high prevalence and mortality rates. In contrast to ischemic heart failure (IHF), the diagnosis of non-ischemic heart failure (NIHF) is established in the absence of coronary artery disease. Angiopoietins (ANGPTs), vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and secretory phospholipases A2 (sPLA2s) are proinflammatory mediators and key regulators of endothelial cells. In the present manuscript, we analyze the plasma concentrations of angiogenic (ANGPT1, ANGPT2, VEGF-A) and lymphangiogenic (VEGF-C, VEGF-D) factors and the plasma activity of sPLA2 in patients with IHF and NIHF compared to healthy controls. The concentrations of ANGPT1, ANGPT2 and their ratio significantly differed between HF patients and healthy controls. Similarly, plasma levels of VEGF-D and sPLA2 activity were higher in HF as compared to controls. Concentrations of ANGPT2 and the ANGPT2/ANGPT1 ratio (an index of vascular permeability) were increased in NIHF patients. VEGF-A and VEGF-C concentrations did not differ among the three examined groups. Interestingly, VEGF-D was selectively increased in IFH patients compared to controls. Plasma activity of sPLA2 was increased in IHF and NIHF patients compared to controls. Our results indicate that several regulators of vascular permeability and smoldering inflammation are specifically altered in IHF and NIHF patients. Studies involving larger cohorts of these patients will be necessary to demonstrate the clinical implications of our findings.

show abstract

“…Basophils have been characterized in humans ( 3 ), guinea pigs ( 4 ), mice ( 5 , 6 ), rabbits ( 7 ) and monkeys ( 8 ). Basophils represent <1% of human peripheral leukocytes, whereas mast cells are ubiquitous in essentially all tissues ( 9 , 10 ). Basophils share some characteristics with mast cells, including the presence of similar, but distinctive basophilic granules within the cytoplasm ( 11 ), surface expression of the full tetramer (α βγ 2 ) form of the high affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI) and release of proinflammatory mediators such as histamine and cysteinyl leukotrienes ( 12 , 13 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%