Role Change: Mast cells show an anti-inflammatory side

As anyone who has reacted to poison ivy can attest, the plant can induce maddeningly itchy skin. Researchers have now found that a cell once thought to be one of the chief perpetrators of this immune overreaction may actually keep the reaction from getting out of hand.

DON’T TOUCH! The oil in poison oak causes a skin reaction initiated in part by mast cells.