COLONIC MAST CELLS IN CONTROLS AND SLOW TRANSIT CONSTIPATION PATIENTS

Gabrio Bassotti (1) , Vincenzo Villanacci , Riccardo Nascimbeni , Moris Cadei , Stefania Manenti , Giuseppe Sabatino , Christoph A Maurer , Gieri Cathomas , Bruno Salerni

1 Clinical & Experimental Medicine

Background. There is recent evidence that mast cells (MC) may play important roles in the gut, especially concerning visceral hypersensitivity and motor activity. However, most data are only available for clinical conditions characterized by diarrhea, where MC have chiefly investigated in the mucosal layer of the colon, and there is almost no information concerning constipation. Aim. To investigate MC distribution in all colonic layers in controls and severely constipated patients. Methods. Full-thickness specimens from colons of patients undergoing surgery for slow transit constipation (n= 29), compared to controls, were obtained and the number of MC (evaluated by specific monoclonal antibodies) counted as a whole and in single colonic segments (cecum, ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid). Results. Compared to controls, constipated patients revealed significantly higher number of MC, both as overall number and in single colonic segments. The distribution of MC resulted fairly homogeneous in the various segment of the large bowel, in both controls and patients, and no significant difference in the percentage of degranulated cells was found between groups. Conclusions. Colonic MC display a homogeneous distribution within the viscus. This cell population is shown to increase in severely constipated patients, and this might represent a compensatory mechanism trying to vicariate for the impaired propulsive activity of these patients.

Mots clés: Medicine

Gabrio Bassotti, Vincenzo Villanacci, Riccardo Nascimbeni, Moris Cadei, Stefania Manenti, et al.. COLONIC MAST CELLS IN CONTROLS AND SLOW TRANSIT CONSTIPATION PATIENTS. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2011, 34 (1), pp.92. ⟨10.1111/j.1365-2036.2011.04684.x⟩. ⟨hal-00637804⟩