Abstract
The contemporary practice of lung auscultation as an essential part of physical examination can be traced back to the time of Hippocrates [1].
Highlights
Mast Cells (MC) and their progenitors are found throughout connective tissues and the mucosae, though the highest MC densities are found in the skin, airways and digestive tract, that is, host-environment interfacescongruous with their role as sentinel cells [1].Two distinct subpopulations of MC have been identified in human tissues, classified according to the protease contents of their secretory granules-tryptase-only containing type, referred to as MCT, and chymase- and tryptase-containing type, referred to as MCTC [2]
The latter contain other proteases, including cathepsin G and carboxypeptidase A. In addition to these proteases, MC possess an arsenal of effector molecules
These include molecules stored in secretory granules, such as heparin, serotonin, and histamine, and those which are synthesised de novo, such as leukotriene C4, prostaglandin D2, platelet activating factor, and an assortment of cytokines [3]
Summary
We performed a search in Pubmed, limited to English language papers, using the keywords mast cells, oral cancer, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and complemented the search results with manual search of relevant cited articles within the search results.
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