Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026
07:26
Isolation of Functional Cardiac Immune Cells
Published on: December 5, 2011
[Effect of stenosing coronary arteriosclerosis on myocardial mast cells]
Kardiologiia
|March 1, 1983
Insights
Mast cells in heart muscle tissue were smaller and degranulated in patients with blocked coronary arteries. These changes indicate chronic myocardial ischemia and suggest mast cell dysfunction in coronary artery disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Pathology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Mast cells are immune cells present in various tissues, including the heart.
- Their role in cardiovascular disease is not fully understood.
- Coronary artery disease can lead to chronic myocardial ischemia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the characteristics of mast cells in the myocardium of patients with coronary artery disease.
- To determine if mast cell changes correlate with chronic myocardial ischemia.
Main Methods:
- Histological examination of myocardial tissue from 134 deceased patients.
- Analysis of mast cell quantity, size, and degranulation status.
- Correlation with the presence and severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis.
Main Results:
- Myocardial mast cells were significantly smaller and showed degranulation in patients with stenosed coronary arteries.
- Reduced mast cell quantity was also observed in these cases.
- These alterations were associated with atherosclerosis-induced coronary stenosis.
Conclusions:
- Changes in myocardial mast cell morphology and degranulation serve as indicators of chronic myocardial ischemia.
- Functional insufficiency of myocardial mast cells is suggested in the context of coronary artery disease.
- Mast cells may play a role in the pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease.
Abstract:
Mast cells were examined in the left ventricular myocardium of 134 patients who had died of different diseases. Myocardial mast cells were smaller in quantity and size and somewhat degranulated where coronary arteries were stenosed due to atherosclerosis. These changes in mast cells can be used as a criterion of chronic myocardial ischemia. The findings are suggestive of functional insufficiency in myocardial mast cells associated with coronary disease.
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