A SHARP INCREASE IN THE DENSITY OF PULMONARY AND PERICARDIAL MAST CELLS
UNDER MONOCROTALINE-INDUCED PULMONARY HYPERTENSION IN RATS
I. L. Erokhina,1 S. V. Okovityy,2 A. A. Kazacgenko,2 A. N. Kulikov,2
O. I. Emelyanova,1 O. A. Bystrova 1
1 1 Institute of Cytology RAS and 2 Military Medical Academy, St. Petersburg;
1 e-mail: heartdev@mail.cytspb.rssi.ru
Multifunctional granular mast cells (MCs) are involved in various pathological processes. The response of
MC populations of myocardium, pericardium and lung to pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been studies 8 weeks
after injection of monocrotaline. Five intact and five experimental rats were used. The density of MCs of different
maturity was estimated on paraffin sections stained with Alcian blue and Safranin. Expressiveness of PH
was estimated by functional parameters with the help of echocardiograms and by morphological markers. The
MC density in myocardium of the intact and experimental rats was relatively low: 2 to 4 cells/mm2. MC density
in the pericardium of intact rats was 14 times higher than in myocardium and increased 3 times for PH. The mature
Safranin-positive cells predominated (70–80 %) in myocardium and pericardium of intact and experimental
rats. The MC density in the lungs of intact rats was about 30 cells/mm2; 98 % of these cells were immature
Alcian-positive cells. The mean density of MCs in the lungs of rats with PH increased 5.6 times. The mature
Safranin-positive cells appeared in the lungs of rats with severe pathology. The greatest number of MCs in lungs
was in the rats with the most pronounced disorders of myocardium function and marked histological damages
(injuries) of myocardium and lungs. The finding show active response of MC population to monocrotaline-induced
PH that stimulates migration of immature MCs into pericardium and lungs from the outside. Our data indicate
the important role of MCs in the pathogenesis of PH
.
Key words: mast cells, myocardium, pericardium, lungs, monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension, rats
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