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IgE and mast cells in allergic disease

Abstract

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies and mast cells have been so convincingly linked to the pathophysiology of anaphylaxis and other acute allergic reactions that it can be difficult to think of them in other contexts. However, a large body of evidence now suggests that both IgE and mast cells are also key drivers of the long-term pathophysiological changes and tissue remodeling associated with chronic allergic inflammation in asthma and other settings. Such potential roles include IgE-dependent regulation of mast-cell functions, actions of IgE that are largely independent of mast cells and roles of mast cells that do not directly involve IgE. In this review, we discuss findings supporting the conclusion that IgE and mast cells can have both interdependent and independent roles in the complex immune responses that manifest clinically as asthma and other allergic disorders.

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Figure 1: Allergen sensitization and IgE production.
Figure 2: The early, immediate hypersensitivity, phase of antigen-induced airway inflammation.
Figure 3: Roles of IgE and mast cells in chronic airway inflammation and tissue remodeling.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the members of the Galli lab and our collaborators and colleagues for their contributions to some of the work reviewed herein, apologize to the many contributors to this field whose work was not cited because of space limitations and acknowledge the support of US Public Health Service grants AI23990, AI070813 and CA72074 (to S.J.G.).

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Correspondence to Stephen J Galli.

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S.J.G. occasionally consults for companies that sell and/or are developing agents to treat allergic disorders, including Amgen Inc., FivePrime Therapeutics, Genentech and Novartis, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Tunitas Therapeutics, which is developing protein therapeutics for the treatment of allergic disorders.

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Galli, S., Tsai, M. IgE and mast cells in allergic disease. Nat Med 18, 693–704 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2755

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