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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Analyzing the Functions of Mast Cells In Vivo Using 'Mast Cell Knock-in' Mice
Published on: May 27, 2015
Mast cell activators as novel immune regulators
Brandi Johnson-Weaver1, Hae Woong Choi1, Soman N Abraham2
1Departments of Pathology Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, 27710, United States.
Abstract:
Mast cells are an important cell type of the innate immune system that when activated, play a crucial role in generating protective innate host responses after bacterial and viral infection. Additionally, activated mast cells influence lymph node composition to regulate the induction of adaptive immune responses. The recognition that mast cells play a beneficial role in host responses to microbial infection and induction of adaptive immunity has provided the rationale to evaluate mast cell activators for use as antimicrobials or vaccine adjuvants. This review summarizes the role of mast cell activators in antimicrobial responses while also discussing the use of different classes of mast cell activators as potent vaccine adjuvants that enhance the induction of protective immune responses.
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