Kaartinen M, Penttilä A, Kovanen P T
Wihuri Research Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
Circulation. 1996 Dec 1;94(11):2787-92. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.94.11.2787.
Mast cells, a cell type involved in inflammatory reactions, are present in coronary atheromas and localize to the erosion or rupture site of atheromas in myocardial infarction. Here we report the presence of TNF-alpha, a proinflammatory cytokine, in mast cells of human coronary atheromas.
From samples of 37 coronary arteries from subjects autopsied for medicolegal reasons, sections of the bifurcation area of the left coronary artery were stained immunohistochemically for mast cells and TNF-alpha. In addition, macrophages, T lymphocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells were investigated for their content of TNF-alpha. In normal intimas and fatty streaks, none of the cell types studied were TNF-alpha-positive. In 14 of the 24 atheromas found, TNF-alpha-positive cells were present. Of the total number of mast cells, 23% stained for TNF-alpha; of the macrophages, 1.3%; and of the smooth muscle cells, 0.4%. The majority (55%) of TNF-alpha-positive mast cells in the atheromas were located in the shoulder region and the remaining 35% in the cap and 10% in the core regions. Immunoelectron microscopy showed that the TNF-alpha in mast cells resided within their cytoplasmic secretory granules, demonstrating that these cells contain stores of TNF-alpha that will be released on degranulation.
This study demonstrates the presence of mast cells with TNF-alpha-containing secretory granules, particularly in the shoulder region of human coronary atheromas. By releasing their TNF-alpha, mast cells may play an active role in the inflammatory reactions of these rupture-prone areas of atheromas.
肥大细胞是参与炎症反应的一种细胞类型，存在于冠状动脉粥样斑块中，并定位于心肌梗死时粥样斑块的糜烂或破裂部位。在此我们报告在人类冠状动脉粥样斑块的肥大细胞中存在促炎细胞因子肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）。
从因法医学原因进行尸检的受试者的37条冠状动脉样本中，取左冠状动脉分叉区域的切片进行肥大细胞和TNF-α的免疫组织化学染色。此外，研究了巨噬细胞、T淋巴细胞、平滑肌细胞和内皮细胞中TNF-α的含量。在正常内膜和脂纹中，所研究的细胞类型均无TNF-α阳性。在发现的24个粥样斑块中，有14个存在TNF-α阳性细胞。在肥大细胞总数中，23%为TNF-α染色阳性；巨噬细胞为1.3%；平滑肌细胞为0.4%。粥样斑块中TNF-α阳性肥大细胞的大多数（55%）位于肩部区域，其余35%位于帽部，10%位于核心区域。免疫电子显微镜显示，肥大细胞中的TNF-α存在于其细胞质分泌颗粒内，表明这些细胞含有TNF-α储存，脱颗粒时会释放出来。
本研究证明了存在含有TNF-α分泌颗粒的肥大细胞，特别是在人类冠状动脉粥样斑块的肩部区域。通过释放TNF-α，肥大细胞可能在这些易破裂的粥样斑块区域的炎症反应中发挥积极作用。
