Direct Evidence of Mast Cell Participation in Acute Acid‐induced Esophageal Inflammation in Mice

Abstract

Objectives: Mast cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of esophagitis resulting from gastroesophageal acid reflux, but their precise role has been difficult to define. We proposed to directly examine the contribution of mast cells to neutrophil infiltration in a mouse model of acid‐induced esophageal injury. Materials and Methods: Normal and mast cell–deficient (Kit) mice underwent either a surgical procedure to induce acute acid reflux injury of the esophagus or sham surgery. Neutrophil infiltration in the esophagus was determined by morphometrical quantification. To further delineate the involvement of mast cells, acid‐induced esophageal injury was elicited in mast cell–deficient mice that had undergone mast cell reconstitution by bone marrow transplantation. Results: Normal mice exhibited significant neutrophil infiltration into the esophagus as a result of acid‐induced injury. The neutrophil accumulation was significantly diminished in mast cell–deficient mice. However, the neutrophil infiltration that resulted from acid‐induced injury in mast cell–reconstituted Kit mice was similar to that seen in normal mice. Conclusions: Our findings provide direct evidence that mast cells participate in the recruitment of neutrophils during acid‐induced esophageal injury in mice.

Atopic and non‐atopic eosinophilic oesophagitis are distinguished by immunoglobulin E‐bearing intraepithelial mast cells

“…Mast cells are known to be associated with inflammation in the oesophagus, including the mucosa 4,13 and smooth muscle 14 in EoE, but also in other oesophageal diseases, including GERD‐induced oesophagitis in mice 15 and oesophageal carcinoma 16 . Blanchard et al.…”

“…Mast cells are known to be associated with inflammation in the oesophagus, including the mucosa 4,13 and smooth muscle 14 in EoE, but also in other oesophageal diseases, including GERD-induced oesophagitis in mice 15 and oesophageal carcinoma. 16 Blanchard et al 11 have demonstrated that oesophageal mast cell numbers correlate with eotaxin-3 level (r 2 = 0.18), maximum eosinophil numbers (r 2 = 0.18) and basal zone hyperplasia (r 2 = 0.51).…”

The contribution of intraepithelial inflammatory cells to the histological diagnosis of microscopic esophagitis

“…The number of mast cells in fact increases both in esophagitis and, more dramatically, in Barrett's esophagus [26,27,33]. Recently, the key role of mast cells in recruiting neutrophils in acid-induced damage to squamous epithelium [25] has been demonstrated in a mouse model. Furthermore, the interaction between mast cells and eosinophils has been suggested in the pathogenesis of eosinophilic esophagitis where mast cell intraepithelial count seems useful in differentiating this condition from reflux [34].…”

“…Many authors investigated the role of intraepithelial lymphocytes [17][18][19][20][21][22], but only a few have tried to investigate them in GERD by using immunohistochemistry [23]. Little information is available on the diagnostic relevance of other inflammatory cell types, i.e., mast cells and Langerhans cells; their role in esophageal damage has been hypothesized by some investigators both in animal models [24,25] and in humans [23,26,27].…”