Mast cells (MC)s are evolutionarily conserved, tissue-resident immune cells with diverse roles in allergy, cancer, and protection from infection by helminths and microorganisms. The significant diversity in MC development and tissue-specific functional characteristics has recently begun to be understood. Exciting developments in single-cell-based RNA, protein, and chromatin profiling technologies offer new opportunities to characterize MC heterogeneity and to uncover novel MC functions and subtypes; these developments might lead to new and clinically effective therapies for certain pathologies. In this review, we provide an overview of the current understanding of MC development and heterogeneity and discuss new insights gained from single-cell-based studies that may lead to future research directions and therapeutic opportunities.

肥大细胞（MC）是进化上保守的组织驻留免疫细胞，在变态反应，癌症以及防止蠕虫和微生物感染方面具有多种作用。近来已经开始理解MC发展和组织特异性功能特征中的显着多样性。基于单细胞的RNA，蛋白质和染色质分析技术的激动人心的发展为表征MC异质性和揭示新颖的MC功能和亚型提供了新的机会。这些发展可能会导致针对某些病理的新的临床有效疗法。在这篇综述中，我们提供了对MC发展和异质性的当前理解的概述，并讨论了从基于单细胞的研究中获得的新见解，这些见解可能会导致未来的研究方向和治疗机会。