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 are known to be effector cells in various inflammatory reactions, but their role in appendicitis is unclear. The present study was undertaken to investigate the extent of mast cell involvement in appendicitis and evaluate their possible role. A total of 150 appendices including normal and inflamed appendices, were assessed for their histological changes and density of neutrophil, lymphocyte and eosinophil infiltration. The mast cells were counted in 1% toluidine blue-stained sections. It was found that eosinophil counts in all the layers were significantly low in normal appendices (P<0.01) and in chronic appendicitis (P<0.1) as compared to acute appendicitis. Mast cell counts were lowest in normal appendices, significantly higher in acute appendicitis (P<0.01) and highest in chronic appendicitis (P<0.001). Obstruction due to faecoliths or parasites were seen in only 20.1% and 2.1% of the inflamed appendices respectively. Hence a Type I hypersensitivity reaction with release of mediators by mast cells might be another triggering factor for the sequence of events leading to appendicitis.
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PMID:Mast cells in surgically resected appendices. 1693 21

Cyclic vomiting syndrome is a disorder characterized by recurrent, discrete, stereotypical episodes of nausea and vomiting. Although chronic or recurrent appendicitis may be a cause of recurrent abdominal pain, it rarely meets the diagnostic criteria for cyclic vomiting syndrome. Furthermore, mast cell counts are histologically high in chronic appendicitis. We report a 10-year-old Japanese girl with a cyclic pattern of vomiting that met the stringent diagnostic criteria for cyclic vomiting syndrome, and which was resolved after appendectomy. Histopathologic examination of the resected appendix showed not only acute mucosal inflammation but also chronic inflammatory changes. Because we speculated that recurrent or chronic appendicitis may have been related to the patient's vomiting bouts, we also immunohistochemically investigated the density of mast cells in the specimen. We found that the mast cell density was markedly high in the lamina propria of the appendix. In our patient, a type I hypersensitivity reaction with release of mediators by mast cells could have been the initial factor triggering the recurrent appendicitis, and this stressor could have initiated the vomiting cascade. In conclusion, chronic or recurrent appendicitis could be one of the causes of cyclic vomiting, and must be considered in the differential diagnosis of cyclic vomiting syndrome.
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PMID:Resolution of cyclic vomiting after appendectomy in a girl. 2170 64