Abstract:

ABSTRACT     Recently, mast cells in kidney diseases have been a concern among nephrologists. Mast cells have been reported increased in the kidney of patients with renal diseases and correlated with clinical and pathological indices. Also, animal experiments have showed that mast cells may play an important role in the development of kidney diseases. It was believed that mast cells may exert their roles through releasing a variety of bioactive substances and/or contacting with other cells directly. However, the exact mechanism and pathological process remains to be elucidated.

Key words: mast cells ,  kidney diseases ,  tryptase  , chymase