title: Analysis of mast cell function in biological responses not involving IgE.
abstract: Mast cells are critical for the expression of certain IgE-mediated responses, but the precise contributions of mast cells to biological processes not involving IgE are obscure. We have employed genetically mast cell-deficient WBB6F1-W/Wv and WCB6F1-S1/S1d mice to investigate the roles of mast cells in several different biological responses. This work strongly suggests that mast cells are not required for the elicitation of contact sensitivity (CS) responses, suppressor T cell-dependent tolerance to CS, reserpine-induced inhibition of CS responses, or bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. By contrast, mast cells appear to contribute to the acute gastric injury induced by ethanol and the acute inflammation of the skin induced by croton oil.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003877:Dermatitis, Contact / Q000473:pathology; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains / Q000502:physiology*