Mast cells: the forgotten cells of renal fibrosis

摘要

Background/Aims-Mast cells, when acti- vated, secrete a large number of fibro- genic factors and have been implicated in the development of fibrotic conditions of the liver, lung, and skin. There is evidence that renal fibrosis is closely linked with a chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate within the interstitium, but a potential role for mast cells in this process has yet to be defined. Therefore, the numbers of mast cells in normal and fibrotic kidneys with various pathologies were investi- gated.