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On Mast Cells as Protectors of Life, Reproduction, and Progeny
Version 1
: Received: 20 March 2024 / Approved: 20 March 2024 / Online: 20 March 2024 (09:50:02 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Norrby, K. On Connective Tissue Mast Cells as Protectors of Life, Reproduction, and Progeny. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 4499. Norrby, K. On Connective Tissue Mast Cells as Protectors of Life, Reproduction, and Progeny. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 4499.
Abstract
The connective tissue mast cell (MC), a sentinel tissue-residing secretory immune cell, is preserved in all vertebrate classes since approximately 500 million years. No physiological role of the MCs has yet been established. Considering the power of natural selection of cells during evolution, it is likely that the MCs exert essential yet unidentified life-promoting actions. All vertebrates feature a circulatory system, and the MCs interact readily with the vasculature. It is notable that embryonic MC progenitors are generated from endothelial cells. The MC hosts many surface receptors enabling its activation by a vast variety of potentially harmful exogenous and endogenous molecules, and by reproductive hormones in the female sex organs. Activated MCs release a unique composition of pre-formed and newly synthesized bioactive molecules, like heparin, histamine, serotonin, proteolytic enzymes, cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. MCs play important roles in immune responses, tissue remodeling, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, inflammation, wound healing, tissue homeostasis, health, and reproduction. As recently suggested, MCs enable perpetuation of the vertebrates because of key effects—spanning generations—in ovulation and pregnancy, as in life-preserving activities in inflammation and wound healing from birth till reproductive age, thus creating a permanent life-sustaining loop. Here, we present recent advances that further indicate that the MC is a specific life-supporting and progeny-safeguarding cell
Keywords
Mast cells; Sentinel cell; Health; Ovulation; Pregnancy; Inflammation; Wound healing; Cell prolif-eration; Angiogenesis; bFGF; VEGF-A; Tissue remodeling; Histamine; Serotonin; Heparin; Proteases; IL-1-alpha; IL-8; TNF-alpha; Nitric oxide; Survival; Progeny
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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