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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Investigating Mast Cell Secretory Granules; from Biosynthesis to Exocytosis
Published on: January 26, 2015
Biology of mast cell tryptase. An inflammatory mediator
Jenny Hallgren1, Gunnar Pejler
1Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Biomedical Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. jhallgren@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
Abstract:
In 1960, a trypsin-like activity was found in mast cells [Glenner GG & Cohen LA (1960) Nature 185, 846-847] and this activity is now commonly referred to as 'tryptase'. Over the years, much knowledge about mast cell tryptase has been gathered, and a recent (18 January 2006) PubMed search for the keywords 'tryptase + mast cell*' retrieved 1661 articles. However, still very little is known about its true biological function. For example, the true physiological substrate(s) for mast cell tryptase has not been identified, and the potential role of tryptase in mast cell-related disease is not understood. Mast cell tryptase has several unique features, with perhaps the most remarkable being its organization into a tetrameric state with all of the active sites oriented towards a narrow central pore and its consequent complete resistance towards endogenous macromolecular protease inhibitors. Much effort has been invested to elucidate these properties of tryptase. In this review we summarize the current knowledge of mast cell tryptase, including novel insights into its possible biological functions and mechanisms of regulation.
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