Two-Way Communication Between Mast Cells and the Nervous System

I. INTRODUCTION Morphological studies reveal an intimate association between mast cells and neurons in both the peripheral and central nervous system [1-4]. In virtually all tissues of the body, mast cells can be found in close proximity to nerve fibers. This proximity also represents a functional link between the immune and nervous systems, whereby mast cells appear to act as bi-directional carriers of information [5,6].