The whole-mount method as a technique for measuring experimental changes in airway goblet cell number

The whole-mount staining method for mucous membranes was introduced as an experimental technique for measuring goblet cell density and for estimating the degree of goblet cell hyperplasia in the trachea of experimental animals. By this technique it was demonstrated that a single intratracheal instillation of lysed extract from human neutrophilic granulocytes in rats after 3 weeks caused a three-fold increase in the density of tracheal goblet cells as compared to control animals receiving saline. The increase is of 3-6 times greater magnitude than previously reported in similar experiments where the number of goblet cells was calculated from cross sections in a traditional manner. It was further shown that the increase in goblet cell density could be prevented if prednisone was given to the animals prior to and during the experiment. It is concluded that the whole-mount preparation method is a useful tool in the quantitation of airway goblet cells in experimental settings, and that it appears to be a more sensitive method than the traditionally used cross section techniques.