Self-termination/anergic mechanisms in human basophils and mast cells.

All cellular reactions include feedback loops, both positive and negative. Following all receptor-mediated stimulation there are events that activate the cell response and events that dampen the receptor response back to resting conditions. IgE-mediated activation of mast cells and basophils necessarily includes a variety of signaling events that serve to terminate the activation processes. Some of these negative feedback loops are active even in resting cells and likely serve to establish a set point for the cell's response to IgE-mediated stimulation. But many negative feedback loops become active only after the cell is stimulated. By and large, it will be these processes that will be discussed in this review.