An ultrastructural study of mast cells in the alveolar wall of normal and asthmatic lung.

Specimens of normal and asthmatic lungs were studied at the electron microscopic level and the frequency and ultrastructural features of mast cells and their granules within the alveolar wall were assessed with morphometric techniques. The numerical density of mast cells per square millimetre of alveolar wall was 299 (SD = 258) in normal and 366 (SD = 260) in asthmatic lung. The mean area of the mast cell nucleated profile was 25.7 microns2 (SD = 6.3) in normal lung and 29.8 (SD = 6.2) in asthmatic. The average number of secretory granules per single mast cell nucleated profile was 55 (SD = 13) in normal lung and 60 (SD = 12) in asthmatic lung. The diameter of the individual secretory granule was 338.9 nm (SD = 42.6) in normal and 345.6 (SD = 47.7) in asthmatic lung. The volume density of secretory granules in normal and asthmatic lung was 6.31 microns3 and 5.81 microns3, respectively. The mean diameter of the individual subunit ('scroll') inside the secretory granule was 88.8 nm for both normal and asthmatic lung. In normal lung 64.2% of granules were of 'scroll' and 'combined' type, and 35.8% of granules were 'particulate' or 'empty'. In specimens from asthmatic patients 40.3% of granules had 'scroll' or 'combined' structures and 59.7% were 'particulate' or 'empty'. Our data suggest that there is no difference between the number of mast cells in normal and asthmatic lung. However, in pulmonary mast cells from asthmatic lung, degranulation is more common than in normal lung.