Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (Loft et al., 2026, Nature Met)

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Cell Metadata

Mast cells

Ontology Term: mast cellCL:0000097
Synonyms Terms that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning as the selected cell type.: tissue basophil, mastocyte, histaminocyte, labrocyte
Category Class of which the cell type is a subclass.: myeloid cellCL:0000763
Ontology Assessment Disagreements with any aspect of the Cell Ontology.: —
Marker Gene Evidence Gene markers used by researcher to assign this cell annotation.: KIT, CPA3
Canonical Marker Genes: KIT, CPA3
Rationale: KIT and CPA3 are canonical markers of mast cells. KIT (CD117) is a receptor tyrosine kinase essential for mast cell development, survival, and activation, and is highly expressed on mast cells. CPA3 (carboxypeptidase A3) is a mast cell–specific granule protease reflecting their secretory and effector function. KIT and CPA3 reliably identify mast cells and distinguish them from other immune cell populations.
Rationale DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01296-9

Set of Labels Description: Annotation of all broad canonical cell populations present in AT were based on previously described markers from Loft et al. 2026 (PMID: 40360756).
Annotation Method: manual

Ontology Term: mast cellCL:0000097
Synonyms Terms that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning as the selected cell type.: tissue basophil, mastocyte, histaminocyte, labrocyte
Category Class of which the cell type is a subclass.: myeloid cellCL:0000763
Ontology Assessment Disagreements with any aspect of the Cell Ontology.: —
Marker Gene Evidence Gene markers used by researcher to assign this cell annotation.: KIT, CPA3
Canonical Marker Genes: KIT, CPA3
Rationale: KIT and CPA3 are canonical markers of mast cells. KIT (CD117) is a receptor tyrosine kinase essential for mast cell development, survival, and activation, and is highly expressed on mast cells. CPA3 (carboxypeptidase A3) is a mast cell–specific granule protease reflecting their secretory and effector function. KIT and CPA3 reliably identify mast cells and distinguish them from other immune cell populations.
Rationale DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01296-9

Set of Labels Description: Annotation of all broad canonical cell populations present in AT were based on previously described markers from Loft et al. 2026 (PMID: 40360756).
Annotation Method: manual