Mast cell numbers in the young rat thalamus: a search for control factors

Numbers of mast cells within brain space can be influenced by exposures to weak, complex magnetic fields. The present studies were designed to help isolate the factors that control numbers of mast cell within the thalamus (n=96) of 15 and 20 day old rat pups. In Experiment I, rat pups were injected daily with either 1 microliter/g or 10 microliter/g of either distilled water, isotonic saline or 0.5 M saline; another group served as controls. The numbers of thalamic mast cells did not differ significantly between the four groups. In Experiment II, that employed a cross-fostering, split litter design, the rats whose mothers had consumed 0.9% taurine during pregnancy contained about twice as many mast cells within the thalamus compared to controls. Fifteen day old pups that had been reared by other mothers showed more mast cells than those reared by their own mothers. There were negative correlations (-.60) between the numbers of mast cells within the leptomeninges of the pups and the mothers' ovarian weights but no significant associations between the numbers of mast cells within the brains of the pups and the mothers.