Zarnegar, B. 2016. Mechanisms triggering the recruitment of mast cell progenitors to the lung and regulation of mast cell degranulation. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine 1274. 51 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-554-9746-0. Mast cells stem from the bone marrow and migrate via the blood as mast cell progenitors. Upon ar...

Aim: Mast cells are versatile innate immune cells and are reported to promote vascular inflammation and neointimal lesion formation, thereby contributing to the development of vascular stenosis and atherosclerosis. However, it is not clear whether mast cells also regulate vascular matrix remodelling in established neointima. This study addressed the hypothesis that perivascular mast cells regul...

The UV radiation in sunlight is the primary cause of skin cancer. UV is also immunosuppressive and numerous studies have shown that UV-induced immune suppression is a major risk factor for skin cancer induction. Previous studies demonstrated that dermal mast cells play a critical role in the induction of immune suppression. Mast cell-deficient mice are resistant to the immunosuppressive effects...

Mast cell activation is associated with atopic and inflammatory diseases, but the natural controls of mast cell homeostasis are poorly understood. We hypothesized that CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) could function in mast cell homeostasis. In this study, we demonstrate that mast cells can recruit both Treg and conventional CD4(+) T cells (Tconv). Furthermore, Treg, but not Tconv, suppr...

Mast cells are known to have a detrimental impact on a variety of pathological conditions. There is therefore an urgent need of developing strategies that limit their harmful effects. The aim of this study was to accomplish this by developing a means of inducing mast cell apoptosis. The strategy was to identify novel compounds that induce mast cell apoptosis by permeabilization of their secreto...

Resting and actively degranulating mast cells are found on the brain side of the blood-brain barrier. In the periphery, exocytosis of mast cell granules results in the release of soluble mediators and insoluble granule remnants. These mast cell constituents are found in a variety of nearby cell types, acquired by fusion of granule and cellular membranes or by cellular capture of mast cell granu...