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Legends of allergy/immunology: John Bienenstock and mucosal immunity

John Bienenstock is a multifaceted gentleman (Figure 1). When I first met him, he was internationally recognized for his contributions to the emerging field of mast cell and nerve association at mucosal sites with implications for mast cell biology, mediation of pain, and - of particular importance for asthma and allergy - regulation of mucosal inflammation. Alongside Dean Befus he found that mucosal mast cells have a unique phenotype and are functionally different from those in connective tissue (1).Together with Ron Stead, he showed first in rats, then humans, the importance of nerve-mast cell association for mucosal homeostasis and mucosal barrier damage (2). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.