Mast Cells as Important Regulators in Autoimmunity and Cancer Development

Mast cells are an essential part of the immune system and are best known as important modulators of allergic and anaphylactic immune responses. Upon activation, mast cells release a multitude of inflammatory mediators with various effector functions that can be both protective and damage-inducing. Mast cells can have an anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory immunological effect and play important roles in regulating autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Importantly, chronic inflammation and autoimmunity are linked to the development of specific cancers including pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer. Inflammatory mediators released from activated mast cells regulate immune responses and promote vascular permeability and the recruitment of immune cells to the site of inflammation. Mast cells are present in increased numbers in tissues affected by autoimmune diseases as well as in tumor microenvironments where they co-localize with T regulatory cells and T effector cells. Mast cells can regulate immune responses by expressing immune checkpoint molecules on their surface, releasing anti-inflammatory cytokines, and promoting vascularization of solid tumor sites. As a result of these immune modulating activities, mast cells have disease-modifying roles in specific autoimmune diseases and cancers. Therefore, determining how to regulate the activities of mast cells in different inflammatory and tumor microenvironments may be critical to discovering potential therapeutic targets to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer.