Complex morphological study of the effect of glutaurine in mast cells.

Glutaurine produces rapid and intensive degranulation of mast cells without affecting the composition of their granules. The mast cells of the individual organs differ in the type and extent of degranulation. There is a wide scale between excessive degranulation (mast cells of subcutaneous connective tissue and of the peritoneum), and unresponsiveness (mast cells of thyroid and lymph nodes), and there are also differences in time. The peritoneal mast cells stain positively with safranin, swell excessively and assume bizarre forms in response to 5 micrograms/rat glutaurine intraperitoneally. Frequent occurrence of lymphocyte-mast cell contacts seems typical. Glutaurine increases 3H-histidine uptake of the peritoneal fluid cells in general and 35S sulphate incorporation in the peritoneal mast cells in particular. Accumulation of these substances is more marked at 1 hour than at 3 hours after application.