Authors : Leren Xu , Deyuan Ou and Denghui Gao
Abstract: Mast cells have been studied extensively in mammals, especially in rodents and human but not in poultry and the objective of this study was to characterize chicken mast cells, especially those in the primary lymphoid organs, histochemically and morphlogically. Carnoy`s fluid was proved to be a good fixative, however neutral buffered formalin (NBF) blocked staining of most mast cells (p<0.001). Alcian blue stained more mast cells than did toluidine blue (pH 0.5) (P0.001), although Alcian blue also stained some of the goblet cells. A new method developed by authors, prolonged Alcian blue staing (LAB-S), can be used to detect mast cells in NBF-fixed tissue sections since it stained nearly as many as toiludine blue staining in Carnoy`s fluid-fixed ones (P>0.05). Numerous mast cells were found to be concentrated in the thymus medulla and with a few in the cortex adjacent to blood vessels and in the interlobular connective tissues, but few in the medulla and cortex of bursa of Fabricius. Mast cells indented to around blood vessels and an interesting finding was that a few mast cells could be found occasionally within the blood vessels. Under electron microscopy, the cytoplasmic granules of mast cells contained amorphous granular materials. Electron density of the matrix in the granules varied from low to high but the crystalline and scroll substructures described in human mast cell granules and some other special substructures in ovine mast cell granules were not oobserved.
Leren Xu , Deyuan Ou and Denghui Gao , 2003. Characterization of Mast Cells in Chicken . Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 2: 38-43.