1. Mast cells derive from the bone marrow and are responsible for the development of allergic and possibly inflammatory reactions. Mast cells are stimulated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific antigen, but also by a number of neuropeptides such as neurotensin (NT), somatostatin or substance P (SP), to secrete numerous pro-inflammatory molecules that include histamine, cytokines and proteolyt...

Mast cells and basophils participate in biological responses such as inflammation and allergic reactions and contain potent mediators such as histamine and cytokines. Some drugs, for example opioids, are known to trigger mast cell degranulation with the release of immunogenic mediators that may cause severe side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate if the human mast cell line HMC-1...

Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent, which has been shown previously to alleviate human allergic skin disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that the mechanism of this action of triclosan is, in part, due to effects on mast cell function. Mast cells play important roles in allergy, asthma, parasite defense, and carcinogenesis. In response to various s...

PURPOSE Mast cells are ubiquitous cells derived from the bone marrow and are responsible for allergic reactions as they release numerous vasodilatory, nociceptive and pro-inflammatory molecules in response to immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific antigen. Mast cell secretion is also triggered by a number of peptides, such as bradykinin and substance P, and may also be involved in the development ...

BACKGROUND In advanced systemic mastocytosis the response of neoplastic mast cells to conventional drugs is poor and the prognosis is bad. Current research is, therefore, attempting to identify novel drug targets in neoplastic mast cells. Polo-like kinase-1 is a serine/threonine kinase that plays an essential role in mitosis and has recently been introduced as a new target in myeloid leukemias ...

Cord plasma contains colony-stimulating activity (CSA) which stimulates the in vitro clonal growth of neutrophils, eosinophils, macrophages, erythrocytes, and persisting mast cells in semisolid cultures. Analysis of day 35 colonies in agar cultures was found to be a suitable means of demonstrating this activity and discriminating between it and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) can influence mast cell development and function in murine rodents by interacting with its receptors on mast cells. We now report the identification of mRNA transcripts of full-length tyrosine kinase-containing trkA, trkB, and trkC neurotrophin receptor genes in HMC-1 human mast cell leukemia cells. Although HMC-1 cells lacked p75 mRNA, they expressed transcripts for t...

Mastocytosis refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders resulting from the clonal proliferation of abnormal mast cells and their accumulation in the skin (cutaneous mastocytosis when only in the skin, CM) or in various organs (systemic mastocytosis, SM). This leads to a wide variety of clinical manifestations resulting from excessive mediator release in CM and benign forms of SM (indolent SM,...