Granzyme H is a novel protease expressed by human mast cells

Abstract

Background: Many of the functions attributed to mast cells depend on the various pro-inflammatory mediators that are secreted upon mast cell activation. These include a panel of mast cell-specific proteases. In addition, recent studies have indicated that murine mast cells also express granzyme D, a protease previously thought to be confined to cytotoxic lymphocytes. Here, we address the human relevance of the latter findings by investigating whether human mast cells express granzyme H, the granzyme that may represent the functional counterpart to murine granzyme D.Methods: Cord blood-derived mast cells, LAD2 cells and skin mast cells in situ were evaluated for their expression of granzymes ..