Mast Cells in the Skin: Inflammation Culprits?
Mast cells(MCs) are best known for being essential effector cells in allergic reactions of the acute variety, which can even result in potentially fatal toxic shock syndromes. Yet, MCs also contribute significantly to the first line of defence against pathogens due to their strategic positioning at the host-environment interfaces and abundance of receptors.
One of the biggest organs in the body, the skin acts as a protective barrier from the outside world. It was recognised as an immune organ fairly early on because it is made up of an intricate network of several immune cell types. Immune cells are mostly found in the dermis of the skin, where they play a crucial role in preserving skin homeostasis and defending against pathogenic, chemical, and mechanical harm.
The vast quantity of preformed proinflammatory mediators packed in secretory granules, their defining trait, enables a quick reaction and the beginning of additional immune effector cell recruitment. But, the exact mechanism might also be responsible for negative overshooting reactions. In addition to being harmful to diseases caused by MCs, MCs also exacerbate other inflammatory skin disorders.
Mast Cells’ Role in Host Defence and Barrier Stability
- Homeostasis in Skin
According to reports, MCs have critical roles in wound healing, skin ageing, and the regulation of epidermal barrier integrity and skin homeostasis. Although their significance in skin homeostasis has been frequently described, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been fully understood. A prevalent theory holds that interactions between MCs and nearby immune and non-immune cells are how MCs demonstrate their homeostatic effects. Numerous studies emphasise the significance of intricate intercellular communication for preserving barrier function and immunological homeostasis.
- The role of mast cells in bridging innate and adaptive immunity
In type I allergy, where they are triggered by the binding of cell-surface-bound complexes by particular antigens, MCs are mostly recognised for their essential effector roles. Dendritic cell (DC) functions can be modified by MCs, which can indirectly alter adaptive immunity in addition to their innate roles that promote adaptive immune responses.
- Role of Mast cells in infection
Through direct killing, phagocytosis, and the attraction of neutrophils, MCs play a crucial role in the host’s defence against germs. In viral infections, MCs regulate local viral replication in the skin and encourage the migration of natural killer cells, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes, but they also play a role in viral spread and viremia.
Significance of Mast Cells to Inflammatory Skin Disorders
MCs have been widely recognised as important effector cells in type I allergy reactions. MCs react to IgE/FcRI bridging by degranulating secretory granules right away. It’s interesting to note that by creating processes through the artery wall, perivascular MCs can extract IgE from the blood. By subsequently synthesising lipid mediators, additional cytokines, and chemokines, the orchestration of cell attraction by MCs is further enhanced. In turn, this results in locally constrained early oedema as opposed to more widespread and hardened skin oedema at later time periods.
Concluding Remarks
MCs have a wide variety of receptors that may detect pathogen invasion, cell stress, and tissue injury. In order to translate danger signals into systemic signals and attract additional immune effector cells, skin MCs are also strategically located underneath the epidermal barrier and linked to the endothelium barrier. A number of mediators, such as histamine, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases, are involved in this communication pathway. MCs play a critical role in the first line of defence against pathogens because of their quick reaction through degranulation, their ability to degranulate into the bloodstream, and plenty of preformed mediators.
Conversely, when surpassing, the same characteristics cause negative consequences in pathogen spread and disease exacerbation. MCs also have an initiating and amplifying role in the endless cycles of skin inflammation in atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, and psoriasis, in addition to being the cause of skin inflammation in typical MC-driven skin illnesses. In conclusion, MCs stand in for the immune system, helping the host defend itself while simultaneously acting as the “culprit” responsible for inflammatory diseases. However, both sides point out MCs as a possible target of treatment methods.
