Mast cells and immune defences.

The interrelations between inflammatory processes and immune reactions has become clearer following recent studies identifying the immune response eff ector mechanisms of mast cells. The implication of mast cells in bacterial clearance mechanisms and their direct interaction with T and B lymphocytes constitute arguments suggesting that mast cells are at the heart of innate and acquired immune defence mechanisms. These new properties of mast cells, if they also exist in man, must be taken into account in future therapeuti c approaches to allergy.