Delineation of the role of RasGRP4 in mast cell growth, differentiation and activation, using RasGRP4 deficient mice

肥大细胞在免疫中起重要作用。肥大细胞与哮喘有关，最近又发现它们参与了抵抗细菌、病毒和真菌的免疫。我们已经确定了一个特定的蛋白质，RasGRP4，这是限制肥大细胞，并在其发展和功能中发挥重要作用。更广泛地了解这种分子将使我们更好地了解肥大细胞参与的疾病，如哮喘和其他疾病。

Mast cells are important in immunity. Mast cells have been implicated in asthma and more recently they have been shown to participate in immunity against bacteria, viruses and fungi. We have identified a specific protein, RasGRP4, which is restricted to mast cells and plays an important role in their development and function. Understanding this molecule more extensively will give us a much better understanding of diseases that the mast cell is involved in such as asthma and other disorders.