Mast cells as a source of multifunctional cytokines

Mast cells have been implicated in the expression of a wide variety of biological responses, including immediate hypersensitivity reactions, host responses to parasites and neoplasms, immunologically non-specific inflammatory and fibrotic conditions, angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling and wound healing. However, the molecular basis for the action of the mast cell in many of these responses is obscure. In this review, John Gordon, Parris Burd and Stephen Galli suggest that the production of a broad panel of multifunctional cytokines may represent an important mechanism by which mast cells influence physiological, immunological and pathological processes.