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Article: Giving mast cells their proper respect.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- July 17, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Although identified more than 150 years ago, mast cells still don't get much respect. And what little reputation these immune cells have is bad.
Through the release of chemicals such as histamine in response to pollen and other harmless substances, for example, mast cells trigger the miseries of allergies. The cells can overreact so strongly, as in cases of bee stings or peanut allergies, that they kill a person.
Yet, scientists trust that the immune system has a reason for keeping the cells around. "Mast cells are in the body to do good. Their role in allergies is an accident," says Soman N. Abraham of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
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