Morphometric study of eosinophils, mast cells, macrophages and fibrosis in the colon of chronic chagasic patients with and without megacolon

The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of chagasic megacolon are not completely characterized. Although autoimmunity may play a role in the pathogenesis of Chagas' disease, recent studies suggest a positive association of tissue parasitism, inflammation, and severity of lesions. The aim of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2007-06, Vol.134 (6), p.789-796
Main Authors: da SILVEIRA, A. B. M., ADAD, S. J., CORREA-OLIVEIRA, R., FURNESS, J. B., D'AVILA REIS, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Count
Chagas Disease - complications
Chagas Disease - pathology
chagasic megacolon
eosinophils
Eosinophils - pathology
Fibrosis
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models
Histology
Humans
Invertebrates
macrophages
Macrophages - pathology
mast cells
Mast Cells - pathology
Megacolon - etiology
Megacolon - pathology
Middle Aged
Parasitism
Vector-borne diseases
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of chagasic megacolon are not completely characterized. Although autoimmunity may play a role in the pathogenesis of Chagas' disease, recent studies suggest a positive association of tissue parasitism, inflammation, and severity of lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of inflammatory cells and the occurrence of fibrosis in the colon of chagasic patients with and without megacolon. Samples from 26 patients were randomly selected and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were sectioned and evaluated by histology and immunohistochemistry to analyse the occurrence and relation among eosinophils, mast cells, macrophages and fibrosis. Section analyses showed that the presence of eosinophils and mast cells in the analysed inflammatory cells has a direct correlation with fibrosis density in the chagasic megacolon. These data suggest that the megacolon's pathogenesis is based on a continuous process of cell damage. Our data propose that eosinophils, mast cells and macrophages may have a direct connection with the occurrence of fibrosis in the colon of chagasic patients. We believe that potential therapeutic agents against these cells could avoid the fibrosis process and contribute to prevent the development of chagasic megacolon.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182007002296