• Silvia Bulfone-Paus and Rajia Bahri.
• Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research (MCCIR), Institute of Inflammation and Repair, University of Manchester , Manchester , UK.
• Front Immunol. 2015 Jan 1; 6: 394.

AbstractMast cells (MCs) are recognized to participate in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Owing to their strategic location at the host-environment interface, they control tissue homeostasis and are key cells for starting early host defense against intruders. Upon degranulation induced, e.g., by immunoglobulin E (IgE) and allergen-mediated engagement of the high-affinity IgE receptor, complement or certain neuropeptide receptors, MCs release a wide variety of preformed and newly synthesized products including proteases, lipid mediators, and many cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Interestingly, increasing evidence suggests a regulatory role for MCs in inflammatory diseases via the regulation of T cell activities. Furthermore, rather than only serving as effector cells, MCs are now recognized to induce T cell activation, recruitment, proliferation, and cytokine secretion in an antigen-dependent manner and to impact on regulatory T cells. This review synthesizes recent developments in MC-T cell interactions, discusses their biological and clinical relevance, and explores recent controversies in this field of MC research.

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