Under physiological conditions, skin mast cells play an important role as guardians that quickly react to stimuli that disturb homeostasis. These cells efficiently support, fight infection, and heal the injured tissue. The substances secreted by mast cells allow for communication inside the body, including the immune, nervous, and blood systems. Pathologically non-cancerous mast cells participate in allergic processes but also may promote the development of autoinflammatory or neoplastic disease. In this article, we review the current literature regarding the role of mast cells in autoinflammatory, allergic, neoplastic skin disease, as well as the importance of these cells in systemic diseases with a pronounced course with skin symptoms.
Keywords: Ehlers–Danlos syndrome; Kounis syndrome; allergic contact dermatitis; atopic dermatitis; cutaneous mastocytosis; mast cell activation; mast cell activation syndrome; pseudoallergy; psoriasis; red man syndrome; rosacea; urticaria.