Abstract
Basophils and mast cells are multifunctional hematopoietic effectors that co-operate to mount a variety of allergic and innate immune responses. Their origin and developmental relationships, however, have not yet been resolved, and remain as one of the major issues in the biology of hematopoiesis. Here we report that progenitors bipotent for basophils and mast cells(basophil/mast cell progenitors: BMCPs) are prospectively isolatable within murine spleen. We have shown that the β7-integrin(β7) is an essential molecule for tissue-specific homing of putative precursors for intestinal mast cells (
J Exp Med
194
:1243
, 2001
Author notes
Corresponding author
2005, The American Society of Hematology
2005
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