Klas Norrby

Mast cell activation and tissue cell proliferation

SummaryThe effect of mast cell activation and degranulation on the proliferation in the intact mesentery was studied in Sprague-Dawley rats. Mast cell activation was achieved by a single intraperitoneal injection of Compound 48/80.The proliferation was studied using three independent methods for estimation of cell production and DNA synthesis: 1. the mitotic index, 2. the relative number of cells having a DNA content in the S and G2 regions, by Feulgen photometric measurement in individual cells, and 3. the specific DNA activity, employing a method which combines a liquid scintillation technique after an intravenous injection of 3H-thymidine and Feulgen photometric determination of the DNA content per membrane preparation.It was found that the proliferation of the normal mesenchymal cells adjacent to the activated and degranulated mast cells in the mesentery was significantly increased within 24 and 32 h, the maximum increase being more than 20-fold compared to untreated controls. The results suggest that the common type of mast cell may have a pathophysiological function related to stimulation of local cell proliferation.

Polymyositis and adult coeliac disease

Gastrointestinal investigation of 14 adult patients with polymyositis disclosed coeliac disease in five. The inflammatory myopathy in our patients is not the same as the myopathy often seen in coeliac disease with osteomalacia. One patient has been free from both gastrointestinal and muscular symptoms for 5 years on a gluten‐free diet alone. The findings strongly suggest an association between polymyositis and adult coeliac disease.

A tissue model for the study of cell proliferation parameters in vivo

SummaryAn intact tissue model which can be used for detailed microscopic studies, quantitative cytochemical analysis and biochemical analysis has been explored, using a number of cell proliferation parameters. The preparations consist of mesenterial “windows” from rats dispersed on object slides. A technique for determining, in one and the same preparation, DNA content and mitotic activity of individual, selected cell types, and DNA synthesis in terms of incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA is described.

A tissue model for the study of cell proliferation in vitro

SummaryA procedure for the cultivation of mesentery is described, in which the culture is fully representative of the tissue of origin. The intact mesenteric membrane—exposed to a minimum of trauma—was spread out over a hole in a filter paper strip in fluid medium and was cultivated free-hanging. Specimens from rats and guinea pigs were used. The organ culture model appears especially apt for cytochemical and proliferation studies. Proliferation variables based on Feulgen DNA analysis in individual, morphologically defined cells and on mitotic counting and radiochemical analysis were estimated. The tissue was fully viable in chemically defined growth medium and showed an almost unaltered light microscopical appearance after up to 52 hr in culture.

Different proliferative responsiveness of fibroblasts and mesothelial cells in the rat mesentery following administration of compound 48/80 at various hours of the day.

SummaryThe proliferative responsiveness of fibroblasts and mesothelial cells in the mesenterial membrane of normal rats was studied quantitatively after a single i.p. injection of the mast-cell activating and histamine-releasing drug Compound 48/80. To make some allowance for a possible chronobiologic effect of the circadian type on the induced proliferation, the drug was given at 1 a.m., 9 a.m., or 5 p.m., and the animals were examined 16, 24, and 32 h later. The proliferation was estimated by cytophotometric Feulgen DNA measurements in individual fibroblast and mesothelial cell nuclei, and by mitotic frequency counting.The main result was that a larger fraction of fibroblasts than of mesothelial cells was stimulated to proliferation, regardless of the hour of treatment with Compound 48/80. It was further demonstrated that in control animals the fraction of cells of either fibroblastic or mesothelial type present in the S cum G2 cell-cycle phases varied markedly at different hours of the day. Quantitative differences appeared in the induced proliferation with regard to the hour of treatment. The most vigorous proliferative response appeared after administration of the drug at 9 a.m. The fraction of cells in the S cum G2 cell-cycle phases was then increased at 16 h and the fraction of dividing cells at 24 h after treatment, illustrating the promptness of the induced proliferative reaction.

Histamine and mucosal mast cells in gluten enteropathy

Coeliac disease is a malabsorptive disorder caused by intolerance to gluten and is characterized by a remodelling of the intestinal mucosa including villus atrophy, crypt hyperplasia and net increase of mucosal volume. Changes of the number of mucosal mast cells (MMCs) in coeliac mucosa has recently been reported, suggesting that the mast cell activity could have a pathogenetic role in gluten enteropathy. MMCs located solely in the lamina propria are the main repository for small-gut mucosal histamine.A consecutive prospective study was designed to study the histamine content, MMC numbers, and the relative volume of lamina propria in intestinal biopsies from adult patients suffering from unexplained diarrhea and/or malnutrition. Histamine was measured by a HPLC-method, the number of MMC was counted after long toluidine-blue staining, and the relative volumes of lamina propiria and epithelium were estimated morphometrically. The findings were correlated to the histopathological appearance of the mucosa. As compared to controls the histamine content increased by 80% and MMC numbers by about 60% in the coeliac mucosa. There was also a correlation between MMC numbers and histamine content for both normal and coeliac mucosae (r=0.81). The morphometric estimation of the relative volumes of epithelium and lamina propria revealed that the lamina-propria compartment was increased by approximately 40% in coeliac mucosa.Taking the changes in compartmental volumes of the remodelled coeliac mucosa into account, our results suggest that the histamine content and MMC population were significantly increased. MMC and MMC-associated histamine may therefore be involved in the pathogenesis of gluten enteropathy.

Induction of proliferation in dense non-starved 3T3 cells by Ca++ ionophore A23187

SummaryThe proliferogenic effect of the Ca++ ionophore A23187 was tested in dense non-starved 3T3 cells. Whereas continuous exposure during 48 h of the cells to the ionophore at concentrations ≧0.4 μM was cytotoxic, a short exposure for 30 s up to 4 min at 0.2 μM was proliferogenic. It was also found that such short exposures to the ionophore caused a transient increase in the intracellular level of cyclic GMP and a roughly simultaneously appearing decrease in the intracellular level of cyclic AMP.