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Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1573-398X
ISSN (Online): 1875-6387

Mast Cells in Lung Homeostasis: Beyond Type I Hypersensitivity

Author(s): Marcia Campillo-Navarro, Alma D. Chavez-Blanco, Isabel Wong-Baeza, Jeanet Serafín-Lopez, Raul Flores-Mejia, Sergio Estrada-Parra, Iris Estrada-Garcia and Rommel Chacon-Salinas

Volume 10, Issue 2, 2014

Page: [115 - 123] Pages: 9

DOI: 10.2174/1573398X10666141024220151

Price: $65

Abstract

Lungs are indispensable organs for the respiratory process, and maintaining their homeostasis is essential for human health and survival. However, during the lifetime of an individual, the lungs suffer countless insults that put at risk their delicate organization and function. Many cells of the immune system participate to maintain this equilibrium and to keep functional lungs. Among these cells, mast cells have recently attracted attention because of their ability to rapidly secrete many chemical and biological mediators that modulate different processes like inflammation, angiogenesis, cell proliferation, etc. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the understanding of the role that mast cells play in lung protection during infections, and of the relation of mast cell responses to type I hypersensitivity-associated pathologies. Furthermore, we discuss the potential role of mast cells during wound healing in the lung and its association with lung cancer, and how mast cells could be exploited as therapeutic targets in some diseases.

Keywords: Allergic inflammation, cancer, lungs, mast cells, pathogens, wound healing.

Graphical Abstract

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