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Overview
A cutting-edge collection of readily reproducible techniques for the isolation, culture, and study of activation and signaling in human mast cells. These methods take advantage of the latest advances in molecular biology, technology, and information science. They include methods for the identification of mast cells, the development of mast cells in vitro, the study of mast cell signaling and gene expression, and the measurement of mast cell expression of inflammatory mediators. Additional chapters cover methods for studying mast cell interactions with other cell types (endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and B cells), the roles of mast cells in host defense, and mast cell apoptosis.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: Eugene A Davidson, PhD(Georgetown University School of Medicine)Description: This volume provides a set of protocols for investigators working with mast cells. Each of the chapters is accompanied by a short bibliography. The primary focus is on management of this cell type and some of the activities related to immune responses.
Purpose: The goal of the book is to provide technical information about mast cells with an emphasis on cellular and molecular methods. Given the broad range of action of mast cells, this is a worthwhile objective. With some limitations, the book meets the main objectives.
Audience: The information will be of value to advanced students and laboratory investigators. The focus is mainly on laboratory work and the book can serve as a working set of protocols. The editors have assembled a diverse group of contributors, many from their home institution. In that sense, authorship is somewhat restricted.
Features: Mast cells are multifunctional contributors to aspects of the allergic response and have an important role in host defense. Mast cells were first identified by Paul Ehrlich (primarily on the basis of unusual staining characteristics with aniline-based dyes), and new information regarding their function continues to be found. This volume provides a set of protocols for isolating, characterizing, and working with these cells. The 30 chapters are organized into several sections. An introductory contribution details the early work of Ehrlich. Sections follow on function, identification, and culture. Signaling pathways (including microarray studies) and the function of these cells in cytokine release make up the central portion. Concluding chapters discuss interactions of mast cells with other cell types and a broad overview of the role of these cells in host defense mechanisms. Each of the substantive chapters contains detailed protocols and a short set of primary references. In general, there is sufficient detail to allow direct adaptation in the laboratory. A curious omission is the failure to discuss the mast cell as a repository of heparin, the macromolecule responsible for the metachromasia that Ehrlich initially observed as characteristic. In spite of this, the volume contains useful material for investigators working in this area.
Assessment: As with other volumes in this series, this provides a set of useful protocols for those working in the area. The overview chapters are limited and thus the book has a niche audience only. It is unclear whether the protocols would have interest outside the immediate area — most laboratories working in the field will have these in place already. A virtue may be assembling a broad set in one place.