title: The history of the controversial relationship between mast cells and basophils.
abstract: Work on mast cells and basophils began with their identification by Paul Ehrlich at the end of the 19th century. Mast cells and basophils were immediately perceived as closely linked cells and early nomenclature formulated by Ehrlich himself, i.e., tissue "Mastzellen" and blood "Mastzellen", reflected this unifying viewpoint. With time, important functional affinities but also substantial diversities were recognized. This review article focuses on the historical development of the concept of mast cell/basophil specificity, from the initial identification of these cells to current studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Anatomy Section, University of Udine Medical School, Udine, Italy. enrico.crivellato@uniud.it
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crivellato
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nico
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ribatti
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001491:Basophils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D006405:Hematology / Q000266:history*; D006493:Heparin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D006632:Histamine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000266:history / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D010802:Phylogeny; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D004396:Coloring Agents; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D006632:Histamine; D006493:Heparin