About the Cover
The Journal of Experimental Medicine
192
6
Cover picture: Scanning electron microscopy of a spreading human endothelial cell and two human mast cells forming a direct cellcell contact after coculture for 4 h. Mast cells were isolated from intestinal mucosa and purified to homogeneity. Endothelial cells derived from umbilical veins were grown to confluence and passaged two to four times before mast cells were added. The close morphological association between both cell types is accompanied by important functional interactions. For example, endothelial cells provide signals allowing mast cells to survive for at least 3 wk and to proliferate without addition of cytokines; otherwise, all mast cells died. See related article in this issue by Mierke et al., pp. 801-811.
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