The human bronchoalveolar mast cell in disease
The human bronchoalveolar mast cell in disease
Mast cells were counted in a cross-sectional study of 129 patients who consented to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In the controls differential mast cell counts were about 0.08% of all the nucleated cells. Significantly higher counts were found in diseases associated with alveolititis: sarcoidosis (0.25%) and cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (0.69%). There was no significant correlation between BAL mast cell counts and indices of disease activity, or mast cell counts in tissue section.
BAL mast cell morphology was compared to that in a number of human tissues including lung, gut and skin, as well as to mammalian tissues including rat skin and gut, using a range of microscopic techniques. Human mast cells generally exhibited appreciably less heterogeneity than in the rat. BAL mast cells exhibited exclusively the features of 'mucosal', Alcian Blue positive cells. They were characterised immunochemically by virtue of cell surface IgE and mast cell granule content. Electron microscopically they exhibited more features of activation than the other mast cell types.
In 65 patients, BAL mast cell histamine content as well as various tests of function were conducted. The geometric mean cell histamine content was 10.9pg. The cells responded to anti-IgE and ionophore challenge by releasing histamine, prostaglandin D2 and other mediators in a dose-dependent manner. Release of these two mediators correlated strongly. The mast cell origin was corroborated by density gradient enrichment experiments. There was some evidence of inhibition of mediator release by salbutamol and cromolyn.
Further study of extrinsic asthmagens showed that their chemical features of polybasic cationic nitrogen containing structures were consistent with a mast cell mediated mode of action, although this is not yet proven in most instances. Human BAL mast cells have an important role in the initiation or perpetuation of inflammation in alveolitis and in asthma.
University of Southampton
Agius, Raymond Martin
9edf6992-0880-441b-a2c4-10a1d31ac14d
1998
Agius, Raymond Martin
9edf6992-0880-441b-a2c4-10a1d31ac14d
Agius, Raymond Martin
(1998)
The human bronchoalveolar mast cell in disease.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Mast cells were counted in a cross-sectional study of 129 patients who consented to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In the controls differential mast cell counts were about 0.08% of all the nucleated cells. Significantly higher counts were found in diseases associated with alveolititis: sarcoidosis (0.25%) and cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (0.69%). There was no significant correlation between BAL mast cell counts and indices of disease activity, or mast cell counts in tissue section.
BAL mast cell morphology was compared to that in a number of human tissues including lung, gut and skin, as well as to mammalian tissues including rat skin and gut, using a range of microscopic techniques. Human mast cells generally exhibited appreciably less heterogeneity than in the rat. BAL mast cells exhibited exclusively the features of 'mucosal', Alcian Blue positive cells. They were characterised immunochemically by virtue of cell surface IgE and mast cell granule content. Electron microscopically they exhibited more features of activation than the other mast cell types.
In 65 patients, BAL mast cell histamine content as well as various tests of function were conducted. The geometric mean cell histamine content was 10.9pg. The cells responded to anti-IgE and ionophore challenge by releasing histamine, prostaglandin D2 and other mediators in a dose-dependent manner. Release of these two mediators correlated strongly. The mast cell origin was corroborated by density gradient enrichment experiments. There was some evidence of inhibition of mediator release by salbutamol and cromolyn.
Further study of extrinsic asthmagens showed that their chemical features of polybasic cationic nitrogen containing structures were consistent with a mast cell mediated mode of action, although this is not yet proven in most instances. Human BAL mast cells have an important role in the initiation or perpetuation of inflammation in alveolitis and in asthma.
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Published date: 1998
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Local EPrints ID: 463967
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/463967
PURE UUID: 672e687b-7469-4df2-a936-15b9fd6dd006
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 20:59
Last modified: 23 Jul 2022 02:15
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Author:
Raymond Martin Agius
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