Isolation and purification of human mast cells and basophils.

Mast cells were once thought to represent a single population of highly granulated secretory cells. However, with the development of mast cell isolation techniques for a diverse range of tissues, it became apparent that mast cells from different species and those from different tissues within the same species exhibit variations in their biochemical, histochemical, and functional properties. The functional heterogeneity of mast cells has important implications for studies of the response of mast cells to secretory stimuli, antiallergic drugs, or drugs that have the potential to produce adverse responses.