Mast cells and basophils: a potential link in promoting angiogenesis during allergic inflammation

Mast cells and basophils are granulated metachromatic cells which possess complex and partially overlapping roles in acquired and innate immunity, including both effector and regulatory activities. Mast cells and basophils cooperate in exacerbating and/or modulating inflammation as well as in mediating subsequent tissue repair. Mast cells release a series of potent proangiogenic molecules during inflammation that stimulate vessel sprouting and new vessel formation. Recent data suggest that basophils may also play a role in inflammation-related angiogenesis, principally but not exclusively through the expression of several forms of vascular endothelial growth factors and their receptors. This review focuses on the potential cooperative link between mast cells and basophils in promoting angiogenesis during allergic inflammation. We discuss the multifaceted roles of mast cells and basophils in inflammatory mechanisms of allergic diseases and whether these cells can be both source and target of proangiogenic mediators.