Korean J Neurogastroenterol Motil.  2004 Jun;10(1):57-62.

Mucosal Mast Cells in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

• Choi JH
• Nah BK
• Leem JM
• Bae SS
• Choi KW
• Chae HB
• Park SM
• Youn SJ
• Sung R

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is ubiquitous but the pathophysiology remains poorly established. There has been increasing interest in the role of mast cells (MC) as they release variable mediators and have receptors for neurotransmitters. The aim of this study was to determine whether MC were increased in the colonic mucosa of IBS patients compared to controls.
METHODS
Biopsy was done from the cecum, ascending colon, descending colon and rectum of 29 patients: 16 IBS, 8 normal, and 5 inflammatory controls. Tissue was stained immunohistochemically with a monoclonal antibody for human mast cell tryptase for MC, and H and E stain for other inflammatory cells.
RESULTS
MC count of IBS patients at the descending colon (15.2+/-4.0) was significantly higher than that of either normal controls (10.9+/-2.7) or inflammatory controls (11.0+/-2.9). In a group of patients with IBS, MC count at the cecum was significantly higher in the constipation-predominant subtype (21.3+/-3.4) and the pain-predominant subtype (22.7+/-2.5) than the diarrhea-predominant subtype (14.7+/-4.2).
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with IBS have higher MC count than controls, and MC count in constipation-predominant IBS patients was significantly higher than diarrhea-predominant IBS patients. These findings suggest that MC might play an important role in IBS.

Keyword

Irritable bowel syndrome; Colon; Mast cell; Inflammatory cell

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Cecum
Colon
Colon, Ascending
Colon, Descending
Humans
Irritable Bowel Syndrome*
Mast Cells*
Mucous Membrane
Neurotransmitter Agents
Rectum
Tryptases
Neurotransmitter Agents
Tryptases