The role of RasGRP4, a mast cell specific protein in mast cell growth, differentiation and activation

肥大细胞是在身体中发现的细胞，其战略性地位于粘膜部位和皮肤，在那里它们形成免疫防御中非常重要的屏障。肥大细胞与一系列炎症性疾病如哮喘有关，最近它们被证明参与抵抗细菌、病毒和真菌的免疫。虽然已经进行了大量的工作来分析肥大细胞如何响应不同的刺激以及哪些因素在其激活中是重要的，但是关于肥大细胞中的什么控制它成为肥大细胞而不是任何其他细胞的能力的工作很少。我们已经鉴定了一种被命名为RasGRP4的特异性蛋白质，其仅限于肥大细胞，并且我们相信，其不仅在引导未成熟细胞成为肥大细胞方面而且在控制肥大细胞的一些重要功能方面发挥重要作用。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，如哮喘和其他炎症性疾病。此外，它可能会揭示肥大细胞如何参与对细菌和病毒的免疫。

Mast cells are cells found in the body which are strategically located at mucosal sites and skin where they form a very important barrier in the immune defence. Mast cells have been implicated in a range of inflammatory disorders such as asthma and more recently they have been shown to participate in immunity against bacteria, viruses and fungi. Although a lot of work has been performed to analyze how mast cells respond to different stimuli and what factors are important in their activation, there is little work available concerning what in the mast cell controls it's ability to become a mast cell and not any other cell. We have identified a specific protein that has been designated RasGRP4 which is restricted to mast cells and has, we believe, an important role to play not only in guiding immature cells to become mast cells but also in controlling some of the important functions of mast cells. 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 inflammatory disorders. In addition it may shed insights into how mast cells are involved in immunity against bacteria and viruses.