Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mast cells contain heparin, histamine, hydrolytic enzymes, and possibly serotonin in metachromatic cytoplasmic granules, and are not visualized in routine histological preparations. Special fixation, frozen sections, and toluidine blue staining are essential for counting the number of mast cells in tissue sections. Histological preparations for counting mast cells were made from arteries of the circle of Willis in persons who died after chest or abdominal trauma (control group) and in patients who had subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) after aneurysm rupture. The arteries were removed within 6 hours of death, taking care to avoid damage to their structure, and were immersed in the fixative solution. This preliminary note, reporting findings in only a few cases, is justified by the interesting discovery of a marked increase in mast cell population in the muscular layer of arteries after SAH. The series is small because of the difficulty in obtaining suitable material, since mast cells virtually disappear when autopsy is performed later than 6 hours after death. It is concluded from this study that there is an increase of mast cell population in cerebral arterial walls after SAH, mainly in the muscular layer, and that the number of mast cells is higher in arteries closer to the aneurysm.
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PMID:Cerebral vasospasm: presence of mast cells in human cerebral arteries after aneurysm rupture. 724 Nov 82

Cerebral aneurysm (CA) has a high prevalence and causes a fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Although CA is a socially important disease, there are currently no medical treatments for CA, except for surgical procedures, because the detailed mechanisms of CA formation remain unclear. From recent studies, we propose that CA is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial walls and various inflammation-related factors participate in its pathogenesis. Mast cells are well recognized as major inflammatory cells related to allergic inflammation. Mast cells have numerous cytoplasmic granules that contain various cytokines. Recent studies have revealed that mast cells contribute to various vascular diseases through degranulation and release of cytokines. In the present study, we examined the role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of CA using an experimental rat model. The number of mast cells was significantly increased in CA walls during CA formation. Inhibitors of mast cell degranulation effectively inhibited the size and medial thinning of induced CA through the inhibition of chronic inflammation, as evaluated by nuclear factor-kappa B activation, macrophage infiltration, and the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and interleukin-1beta. Furthermore, an in vitro study revealed that the degranulation of mast cells induced the expression and activation of MMP-2, -9, and inducible nitric oxide synthase in primary cultured smooth muscle cells from rat intracranial arteries. These results suggest that mast cells contribute to the pathogenesis of CA through the induction of inflammation and that inhibitors of mast cell degranulation can be therapeutic drugs for CA.
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PMID:Contribution of mast cells to cerebral aneurysm formation. 2033 12