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Abstract: Cancer diseases have been one of the biggest health threats for the last two decades. Approximately 9% of all diagnosed cancers are skin cancers, including melanoma and non-melanoma. In all cancer cases, early diagnosis is essential to achieve efficient treatment. New solutions and advanced techniques for rapid diagnosis are constantly being sought. Aptamers are single-stranded RNA or DNA synthetic sequences or peptides, which offer novel possibilities to this area of research by specifically binding selected molecules, the so-called cancer biomarkers. Nowadays, they are widely used as diagnostic probes in imaging and targeted therapy. In this review, we have summarized the recently made advances in diagnostics and treatment of skin cancers, which have been achieved by combining aptamers with basic or modern technologies.

Mast cells (MCs) play important roles in normal immune responses and pathological states. The location of MCs on the boundaries between tissues and the external environment, including gut mucosal surfaces, lungs, skin, and around blood vessels, suggests a multitude of immunological functions. Thus, MCs are pivotal for host defense against different antigens, including allergens and microbial pathogens. MCs can produce and respond to physiological mediators and chemokines to modulate inflammation. As long-lived, tissue-resident cells, MCs indeed mediate acute inflammatory responses such as those evident in allergic reactions. Furthermore, MCs participate in innate and adaptive immune responses to bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. The control of MC activation or stabilization is a powerful tool in regulating tissue homeostasis and pathogen clearance. Moreover, MCs contribute to maintaining the homeostatic equilibrium between host and resident microbiota, and they engage in crosstalk between the resident and recruited hematopoietic cells. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the functions of MCs in health and disease. Further, we discuss how mouse models of MC deficiency have become useful tools for establishing MCs as a potential cellular target for treating inflammatory disorders.