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PMID: 23802591 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Review

Mast cell activity in the healing wound: more than meets the eye?

Experimental dermatology ·Vol. 22 ·No. 8 ·2013-08-00 ·Pages 507-10

Wulff BC, Wilgus TA

Abstract

Mast cells (MCs) are an important part of the innate immune system and are abundant in barrier organs such as the skin. They are known primarily for initiating allergic reactions, but many other biological functions have now been described for these cells. Studies have indicated that during wound repair, MCs enhance acute inflammation, stimulate reepithelialization and angiogenesis, and promote scarring. MCs have also been linked to abnormal healing, with high numbers of MCs observed in chronic wounds, hypertrophic scars and keloids. Although MCs have gained attention in the wound healing field, several unique features of MCs have yet to be examined in the context of cutaneous repair. These include the ability of MCs to: (i) produce anti-inflammatory mediators; (ii) release mediators without degranulating; and (iii) change their phenotype. Recent findings highlight the complexity of MCs and suggest that more information is needed to understand their complete range of activities during repair.

Keywords
inflammation mast cell repair scar wound
MeSH Terms
Animals Anti-Inflammatory Agents/chemistry Humans Immunity, Innate Inflammation Keloid/immunology Mast Cells/immunology Neovascularization, Pathologic/immunology Phenotype Skin/immunology Wound Healing
Chemicals
Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Wulff Brian C
Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Wilgus Traci A
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Article Info
Journal
Experimental dermatology
Abbr.
Exp Dermatol
ISSN
1600-0625
DOI
10.1111/exd.12169
Published
2013-08-00
Epub
2013-00-27
Pages
507-10
Language
English
Region
Denmark
NLM ID
9301549
PMCID
PMC3723719
Subset
IM
Grants
NCI NIH HHS · R01 CA127109 · United States
NIEHS NIH HHS · R21 ES020462 · United States
NCI NIH HHS · CA127109 · United States
NIEHS NIH HHS · ES020462 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1111/exd.12169 PMC Full Text View journal details
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