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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 May 12.
Published in final edited form as: Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2014 Dec;20(12):2364–2378. doi: 10.1097/MIB.0000000000000142

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1

Mediators released from activated MCs. MCs express receptors that recognize different growth factors, immunoglobulins, bacterial components, and complement-derived factors. On a weight basis, ~50% of the protein content of a mature MC in the GI tract consists of varied proteases stored in the cell’s secretory granules ionically bound to serglycin proteoglycans. When MCs are activated (e.g., by their IgG receptors FcγRI and FcγRIII), they exocytose the preformed mediators from their secretory granules. Minutes to hours later, the activated MCs generate and release varied lipid mediators and cytokine/chemokine mediators, respectively. MCs are heterogeneous immune cells in tissues, and the combinations of mediators they produce are dependent on the cell’s phenotype and the activating signaling pathway.