0000000000287130
AUTHOR
Federica D’incà
Frontline Science: Mast cells regulate neutrophil homeostasis by influencing macrophage clearance activity
Abstract The receptor tyrosine kinase cKit and its ligand stem cell factor are essential for mast cells (MC) development and survival. Strains with mutations affecting the Kit gene display a profound MC deficiency in all tissues and have been extensively used to investigate the role of MC in both physiologic and pathologic conditions. However, these mice present a variety of abnormalities in other immune cell populations that can affect the interpretation of MC-related responses. C57BL/6 KitW-sh are characterized by an aberrant extramedullary myelopoiesis and systemic neutrophilia. MC deficiency in KitW-sh mice can be selectively repaired by engraftment with in vitro-differentiated MC to va…
Mast cells control the expansion and differentiation of IL-10-competent B cells
Abstract The discovery of B cell subsets with regulatory properties, dependent on IL-10 production, has expanded our view on the mechanisms that control inflammation. Regulatory B cells acquire the ability to produce IL-10 in a stepwise process: first, they become IL-10 competent, a poised state in which B cells are sensitive to trigger signals but do not actually express the Il-10 gene; then, when exposed to appropriate stimuli, they start producing IL-10. Even if the existence of IL-10–competent B cells is now well established, it is not yet known how different immune cell types cross talk with B cells and affect IL-10–competent B cell differentiation and expansion. Mast cells (MCs) contr…