ABSTRACT
Adhesion between cells, in the form of homotypic or heterotypic aggregation, as well as adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins may influence cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, survival, cytokine production and gene expression. Mast cell precursors from the vascular compartment must transmigrate through the vascular endothelium and then target specific tissue structures. Adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) is a part of this process. The effector pathways by which receptor tyrosine kinases regulate cell-matrix adhesion have been studied in more detail in mast cells using wild-type and mutant forms of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor. Many observations concerning the human mast cell expression of integrins use mast cells dispersed from normal tissues using proteases or examine mast cells that are grown in culture. Mast cells also express other molecules that do not belong to any family of adhesion molecules, but may participate in adhesive interactions between different kinds of cells with varied biologic functions.
