We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Murine Fetal Skin-Derived Cultured Mast Cells: A Useful Tool for Discovering Functions of Skin Mast Cells.
- Authors
Matsue, Hiroyuki; Kambe, Naotomo; Shimada, Shinji
- Abstract
Mast cells are widely distributed throughout the body, being preferentially localized at host–environment interfaces. They have long been known as major effector cells in IgE-mediated allergic responses. However, accumulating evidence has provided many new insights into their functions. They are now known to be involved in diverse pathological processes, for example, innate and adaptive immunity. Utility of mast cell-deficient mice and mast cell-knock-in mice has provided powerful models to demonstrate compelling evidence for their in vivo relevance. Conversely, primary cultures of tissue-derived mast cells provide excellent models for in vitro studies of functions at both cellular and molecular levels. Because mast cells exhibit phenotypical and functional heterogeneity in different anatomical sites, it is important to obtain tissue-specific mast cells to clarify their function in tissue. In this regard, researchers have established several methods to prepare mast cells from different tissues, which are technically difficult to obtain at high purity and yield. To overcome these difficulties, we have developed a primary culture system to obtain large numbers of mast cells at high purity from murine fetal skin. In this review, we describe characteristics of such mast cells and their utility in mast cell biology.Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2009) 129, 1120–1125; doi:10.1038/jid.2009.44; published online 26 February 2009
- Subjects
MAST cell physiology; IMMUNITY; CELL physiology; CYTOLOGICAL research; LABORATORY mice
- Publication
Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2009, Vol 129, Issue 5, p1120
- ISSN
0022-202X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/jid.2009.44