Response of mucosal mast cells to intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat.

The goals of this study were to investigate the in vivo effects of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion on mucosal mast cells, and to evaluate the morphological changes induced by standardized arterial occlusion in anesthetized rats. Complete segmental ileal ischemia was maintained for 15, 30, or 60 min, and was followed by a 30 min reperfusion period. Intestinal biopsies taken at the end of ischemia and in the 30th min of reperfusion were evaluated by image analysis, and the rate of release of type II rat mast cell protease, a marker of mast cell exocytosis, was determined from the venous effluent of the segment. Electron microscopy revealed cytoplasmic vacuolization of the mast cells of the villi after the 15 min ischemia. Ischemia induced a continuous diminution of the mucosal thickness and a significant fall in the number of mast cells in the villi; with immunoperoxidase staining with a monoclonal antibody that recognizes the AD1 mast cell surface antigen, the decrease was 57, 49, and 66% in the 15, 30, and 60 min ischemia groups, respectively. In these groups, the mucosal type II mast cell protease concentration increased to 2.4-, 2.5-, and 3.6-fold, respectively, and a significant increase in plasma protease levels was observed on reperfusion. These results lead us to conclude that mucosal mast cells are very sensitive to intestinal ischemia, with the majority of mast cells in the ileal villi already involved in the response to ischemia after a short period of arterial occlusion.