title: Origin of basophils and mast cells.
abstract: Basophils and mast cells are major players in the progression of allergic disorders. Although both cell types originate from hematopoietic stem cells, their lineage commitment pathways and mechanisms have been unsolved issues in hematology. Recent advances in the multicolor FACS system enable the prospective isolation of progenitor populations whose readouts are restricted to basophil and/or mast cell lineages. These newly-isolated progenitor subsets are helpful to understand the developmental machinery of basophil and mast cell lineages, leading to the possible exploitation of a novel therapeutic strategy for allergic and autoimmune disorders. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in our understanding of the basophil/mast cell ontogeny on a cellular basis.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan. yarinobu@cancer.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yojiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arinobu
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001491:Basophils / Q000502:physiology*; D022763:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha / Q000502:physiology; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000502:physiology; D050989:GATA2 Transcription Factor / Q000502:physiology; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006801:Humans; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D022763:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha; D050989:GATA2 Transcription Factor