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Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

After a review on the historical development of morphological investigations of entero-endocrine cells, dating back to 1870, a detailed synoptical review of the current stage of findings in this field is given. At the present time nine different endocrine cell types can be distinguished in the epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract. Criteria for this differentiation are properties concerning specific staining methods, aldehyde-induced fluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and ultrastructure. From present results it is obvious that distinct cell types are responsible for the synthesis of defined polypeptide hormones (e.g. gastrin, secretin, enterogastrone). The metabolism of amines, in relation to the endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract is of particular interest here. Points investigated include the uniqueness of endocrine cells, with regard to the metabolism of biogenic amines ("APUD-cells") and the possibility of serotonin synthesis by a definite cell type, i.e. by the EC-cell ("enterochromaffin" cell). In our experimental animal, male Wistarrats, seven different entero-endocrine cell types can be discerned by ultrastructural means: EC-, ECL-, G-, AL-, EG-, D- and D1-cells. The I-cell (found in other species) can hardly be distinguished from the AL-cell by ultrastructural means and the S-cells, as found in other species, are not to be found at all. Only some of the cited cell types can be seen by fluorescence microscopy. After formaldehyde-treatment of the tissue, the "enterochromaffin" cell shows a yellow, serotonin-specific fluorescence. This cell corresponds in shape, number and distribution to the ultrastructurally defined EC-cell. EC-cells are found predominantly in the pyloric region and the duodenum and less frequently in the middle- and hindgut and the cardiac region; seldomly EC-cells are encountered in the oxyntic gland area of the stomach. In the rat gastro-intestinal tract, number and fluorescent intensity of EC-cells does not always correspond with the serotonin content of a certain region--sometimes the level of serotonin is largely determined by the mast cells, which in the rat also contain serotonin. For example, the high serotonin content of the oxyntic gland area, which contains very few EC-cells, has to be contributed nearly exclusively to mast cell serotonin. Mast cells can be domonstrated by fluorescence microscopy, due to their histamine content, after treatment of the tissue with o-phthalaldehyde (OPD). It seems likely that the histamine content, especially that of the so-called "atypical mast cells" of the mucosa, is inversely related to their respective serotonin content. --In addition to mast cells, OPD-treatment leads to a fluorescence in some of the entero-endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal epithelium. In the gastric epithelium these fluorescing cells should be regarded as histamine-containing ECL-cells and glucagon-containing AL-cells while in the colonic epithelium they are considered to be glucagon-containing AL-cells...
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PMID:[The endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal epithelium and the metabolism of biogenic amines in the gastrointestinal tract (author's transl)]. 13 9

Cytofluorometric quantitation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and heparin in individual mast cell granules is described. The technique is based on micromanipulation of intact mast cells reacted with formaldehyde or stained with Berberine sulfate and the use of a cytofluorometer equipped with a sensitive peak detecting device. The quantities of 5-HT and heparin contained in mast cell granules which are of the order of 10(-16) and 10(-13) g, respectively were expressed as relative fluorescence guanta. The results of measurements on representative samples of mast cell granules indicate that all granules contain heparin as well as 5-HT, and that there are large variations in both 5-HT and heparin content within the granule populations of individual cells. A dose dependent increase in 5-HT content in both cells and individual mast cell granules occurred 24 hr after the injection of 10--50 mg L-5-hydroxytryptophan/kg intraperitoneally. There was no evidence for an increase in the heparin content of granules or cells, indicating that a new synthesis of granular macromolecules is not required for the 5-HT uptake. The results further suggest that 5-HT may be stored initially in a cytoplasmic extragranular pool and then taken up in the mast cell granules.
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PMID:Cytofluorometric quantitation of 5-hydroxytryptamine and heparin in individual mast cell granules. 30 56

The bovine splenic nerve trunk contains mast cells, ganglion cells, small intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells, and varicosities which exhibit a brilliant fluorescence characteristic for noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) after formaldehyde exposure. All these catecholamine-rich structures could contribute particles to isolated nerve vesicle fractions. Mast cells are recognized ultrastructurally by their large (300-800 nm) dense granules. SIF cells may be represented by cells and processes containing dense cored vesicles (120-140 nm) which are larger than the typical vesicles in axons and terminals. Terminal-like areas with typical large dense cored vesicles (LDV, 75 nm) and small dense cored vesicles (SDV, 45-55 nm) probably correspond to the fluorescent varicosities. The LDV constitute about 40% of all vesicles in terminal-like areas and terminals. Their staining properties indicate the presence of protein, phospholipids, and ATP. Tyramine depletes NA without loss of matrix density. The LDV can fuse with the terminal membrane, and released material outside omega profiles is interpreted to depict exocytosis. Large and small vesicles are easily distinguished from the very large mast cell granules and the moderately dense Schwann cell vesicles. Neither appear to contaminate the LDV fractions but the latter may contain a small population of SIF cell vesicles. Golgi vesicles from the Schwann cells mainly occur in the lighter zones of the gradient.
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PMID:Catecholamine-rich cells and varicosities in bovine splenic nerve, vesicle contents and evidence for exocytosis. 45 41

The early membrane events taking place during mast cell secretion were followed in transmission and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. In order to slow down exocytosis and capture intermediate stages of membrane fusion, special conditions of incubation and stimulation were used. These were as follows: (a) the use of incubation media with altered ionic composition, and (b) stimulation with a low dosage of polymyxin B sulfate (4 microgram/ml) at low temperature (18 degrees C) for very short incubation times (30-60 s), with or without the presence of formaldehyde (0.8%). Under these conditions, unetchable circular impressions are found on the E face of the plasma membrane, 80-100 nm in diameter, with particles associated with their perimeters. In granule-to-granule fusion, the zone involved is demarcated by one or two rows of particles on the E face. In addition, raised circular areas of varying diameters (43-87 nm) surrounded by similar particles, also found on the E face, may represent potential sites before completion of fusion. Neither the circular impressions on the plasma membrane nor the sites on the granule membrane are permanent, but their appearance coincides with initiation of membrane fusion.
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PMID:A freeze-fracture study of early membrane events during mast cell secretion. 55 77

Two types of mast cell can be identified histochemically in the dermis of the rat's external ear. One type is recognized by the binding of concanavalin A (con A) to the cytoplasmic granules (con A-positive cells) while in the other type (con A-negative cells), the granules do not bind con A. The granules in both types are stained metachromatically by toluidine blue. Antidromic stimulation of the great auricular nerve for 2 min results in an increased proportion of degranulating mast cells in the auricular dermis and both types of cell are affected to an approximately equal extent. In discussion of this observation, it is argued that both the con A-positive and the con A-negative mast cells are probably involved in the mediation of vasodilatation due to axon reflexes in injured skin. The proportions of degranulating mast cells determined in histological preparations varied with the fixatives (Carnoy and glutaraldehyde-formaldehyde) used, but the increased degranulation due to antidromic nervous stimulation could be detected after either fixation.
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PMID:Degranulation of dermal mast cells: effects of fixation and of antidromic nervous impulses on two histochemically identified cell-types. 100 10

To examine the effects of the atmospheric pollutant formaldehyde on functionally distinct mast cells, peritoneal mast cells (PMC), intestinal mucosal mast cells (IMMC) and mouse bone-marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) were incubated with various concentrations of formaldehyde. Pretreatment for 30 min with up to 100 micrograms/ml formaldehyde was not cytotoxic to mast cells. Formaldehyde (1-10 micrograms/ml) alone induced low levels of histamine release (< 10%) from IMMC and BMMC. Antigen-induced histamine release was significantly increased in both PMC pretreated with low concentrations of formaldehyde (5-20 micrograms/ml) and BMMC pretreated with 10 micrograms/ml formaldehyde but decreased in PMC pretreated with a higher concentration (100 micrograms/ml) of formaldehyde. By contrast, antigen-induced histamine release was decreased in IMMC pretreated with formaldehyde in a dose-dependent manner. Histamine release stimulated with A23187 was also increased in PMC pretreated with a low concentration (10 micrograms/ml) of formaldehyde but decreased in those pretreated with a higher concentration (100 micrograms/ml) of formaldehyde. Pretreatment with 10 micrograms/ml formaldehyde significantly enhanced beta-hexosaminidase release from PMC stimulated with antigen or A23187. Compared to sham-treated PMC, PMC pretreated with formaldehyde expressed a markedly depressed natural cytotoxicity for the tumor target WEHI-164 (an assay of tumor necrosis factor alpha activity). These results suggest that formaldehyde modifies various mast cell functions through alterations in cellular metabolism. Such effects may be important in respiratory and other diseases associated with formaldehyde exposure.
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PMID:Mast cell response to formaldehyde. 1. Modulation of mediator release. 138 64

Fixation and staining characteristics were studied for mast cells recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage from 67 patients being investigated for lung disease. The number of toluidine blue stained mast cells in formaldehyde-fixed cytocentrifuge preparations was consistently less than in specimens fixed in Carnoy's solution, though the counts were highly dependent on the period of fixation or staining. The cellular histamine content closely correlated with total mast cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, but was not related to the relative proportions of mast cells which were sensitive or resistant to formaldehyde fixation when using a standard protocol. Compared with normal subjects, the numbers of formaldehyde-sensitive mast cells were significantly elevated in patients with bronchial carcinoma, sarcoidosis, extrinsic allergic alveolitis, cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis, and mycobacterial infection and were particularly high in the cases of interstitial lung disease. An even greater increase in numbers of formaldehyde-resistant mast cells was observed in the patients with sarcoidosis and extrinsic allergic alveolitis. The associations of these mast cell subsets with disease may reflect relationships between the expansion of the formaldehyde-sensitive population and lymphocyte infiltration and between proliferation of formaldehyde-resistant mast cells and tissue fibrosis.
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PMID:Histochemical heterogeneity of human mast cells: disease-related differences in mast cell subsets recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage. 170 15

Modern image analysers automatically perform densitometric measurements and elaborate digital images. Elaboration however is subject to operator interpretation and often eliminates precious information from the areas of interest. For this reason, it was appropriate to find a staining method which would overcome this drawback and, in the case of mast cell histochemistry, limit staining to granule content. The following current staining techniques were tested: Toluidine Blue in buffered solution (solut. a) and in 0.003% alcoholic solution (solut. b) and alcoholic Astra Blue, pH 0.2 Densitometric analysis was performed on both 5 microns and semithin sections of mouse tongue fixed in Isotonic formaldehyde-acetic acid (IFAA). Digital images were obtained using 630 nm and 546 nm wavelengths for Toluidine Blue and 610 nm for Astra Blue. Direct comparison between the two Toluidine Blue solutions revealed that more pixels were captured by the 5 microns sections stained with solut. a, whilst the opposite occurred in semithin sections. Both dyes introduced a certain amount of error due to the orthochromatic component of the nucleus and cytoplasmic basophily, which had to be eliminated through image elaboration. Because of its subjective nature, this operation may in turn lead to further errors. The choice of Astra Blue as an alternative to Toluidine Blue in densitometric analysis of mastocytes is based on its property to restrict staining to the granules of mast cells. A comparison between Astra Blue and the two Toluidine Blue solutions showed that, at all transmission levels, preparations stained with Astra Blue captured more pixels than those stained with Toluidine Blue. Consequently our results suggest that the most suitable technique for densitometric image analysis is fixation of mast cells in IFAA followed with Astra Blue.
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PMID:Mast cell fixation and staining in image analysis. 172 8

An avidin-biotin enhanced immunoperoxidase procedure using monoclonal antibodies (AA1, AA3, and AA5) prepared against human mast cell tryptase resulted in intense staining of mast cells in paraffin-embedded tissue. The distribution of mast cells observed was similar to that seen when adjacent serial sections were stained using a standard procedure with toluidine blue, though the immunoperoxidase technique permitted the identification of significantly more mast cells. With monoclonal antibody AA1, immunostaining was entirely specific for mast cell granules, and there was negligible background staining in a range of tissues including lung, tonsil, colon, gastric mucosa, skin, and pituitary. There was no staining of antibody on basophils or on any other normal blood leukocyte. The technique was effective with tissue fixed in either Carnoy's or neutral buffered formalin, though the internal mast cell structure was better preserved with formaldehyde fixation. The immunoperoxidase staining procedure with monoclonal antibody AA1 is a highly specific and sensitive means for the detection of mast cells in routinely processed tissues.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical identification of mast cells in formaldehyde-fixed tissue using monoclonal antibodies specific for tryptase. 225 Jan 89

The mast cell distribution and number were studied in skin biopsies of 18 mastocytosis patients and 10 controls. The biopsies were stained for mast cells with toluidine blue at pH 0.5. The number in the upper dermis of lesional abdominal skin was at least twice as high as that of normal adjacent skin. Fixation in iso-osmotic 0.6% formaldehyde and 0.5% acetic acid, revealed more mast cells than conventional 4% formaldehyde fixation. Staining for 5 days, when compared to the normal for 30 min, increased the number of demonstrable mast cells just as did the change in fixation. Conventional formaldehyde fixation thus partially blocks the dye-binding of cutaneous mast cells, about 20% of the cells escaping detection. The degree of aldehyde blocking was similar in lesional and normal skin. A more pronounced blocking of dye-binding has been demonstrated previously in gut mucosal mast cells. Whether the blocking of dye-binding is an expression of heterogeneity in dermal mast cells remains to be determined.
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PMID:Dermal mast cells in mastocytosis: fixation, distribution and quantitation. 242 9


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