Smith C H, Kepley C, Schwartz L B, Lee T H
Department of Allergy & Respiratory Medicine, United Medical School, Guy's Hospital, London, England.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1995 Sep;96(3):360-4. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(95)70055-2.
Increased levels of histamine have been previously demonstrated in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria.
The purpose of the study was to determine whether increased numbers of mast cells are present in lesional skin from such patients.
Mast cells have been quantified in lesional (n = 11) and nonlesional (n = 9) skin from patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria and compared with site-matched skin from healthy control subjects (n = 10). Mast cells were identified by using a sensitive, double-labeling immunohistochemical technique with specific monoclonal antibodies to mast cell tryptase and chymase and quantified under light microscopy.
No significant differences in mast cell numbers from lesional, nonlesional, or control skin were observed (p > 0.1, Student's t test). In both patients with urticaria and control subjects, more than 99% of cutaneous mast cells contained tryptase and chymase.
These data indicate that increased skin histamine in chronic idiopathic urticaria is not caused by increased mast cells and may alternatively reflect an increase in histamine content per mast cell, enhanced mast cell activation, or recruitment of basophils into skin in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria.
先前已证实在慢性特发性荨麻疹患者中组胺水平升高。
本研究的目的是确定此类患者的皮损中肥大细胞数量是否增加。
对慢性特发性荨麻疹患者的皮损（n = 11）和非皮损（n = 9）皮肤中的肥大细胞进行定量，并与健康对照者（n = 10）的部位匹配皮肤进行比较。使用对肥大细胞类胰蛋白酶和糜蛋白酶具有特异性的单克隆抗体的灵敏双标记免疫组织化学技术鉴定肥大细胞，并在光学显微镜下进行定量。
在皮损、非皮损或对照皮肤中观察到的肥大细胞数量无显著差异（p > 0.1，学生t检验）。在荨麻疹患者和对照者中，超过99%的皮肤肥大细胞含有类胰蛋白酶和糜蛋白酶。
这些数据表明，慢性特发性荨麻疹中皮肤组胺增加并非由肥大细胞增多引起，可能反映了慢性特发性荨麻疹患者每个肥大细胞中组胺含量增加、肥大细胞活化增强或嗜碱性粒细胞向皮肤募集增加。
