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Spatial distribution of mast cells around vessels and glands in human gastric carcinoma

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Abstract

The spatial distribution of mast cells inside the tumor stroma has been little investigated. In this study, we have evaluated tumor mast cells (MCs) distribution in gastric cancer through the analysis of the morphological features of the spatial patterns generated by these cells, including size, shape, and architecture of the cell pattern. The pattern of distribution of tryptase- and chymase-positive MCs around the blood vessels and gastric glands in human gastric adenocarcinoma samples was investigated by immunohistochemical techniques and by introducing a quantitative approach to characterize the spatial distribution of MCs. In human gastric cancer, both chymase-positive MC and vessels exhibited significant deviations from randomness for what it concerns their spatial relationship with gastric parenchyma. As indicated by cell-to-gland distances shorter than expected by chance, in grade II samples a preferential localization of chymase-positive MC near the gastric glands was observed. Interestingly, the same type of spatial association was exhibited by vessels in grade IV samples, where vessel-to-gland distances shorter than expected by chance were observed. These two findings allow to speculate about a sequence of events in which a subpopulation of MC is first recruited around gastric parenchyma to drive the subsequent development of a vascular support to the tissue.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the “Associazione Italiana Mastocitosi”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova Medical School, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Diego Guidolin & Cinzia Tortorella

  2. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy

    Simona Ruggieri, Tiziana Annese & Domenico Ribatti

  3. Department of Emergency and Transplantation, Pathology Section, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy

    Andrea Marzullo

  4. National Cancer Institute “Giovanni Paolo II”, Bari, Italy

    Domenico Ribatti

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  1. Diego Guidolin
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  2. Simona Ruggieri
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Correspondence to Domenico Ribatti.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and later versions.

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Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Guidolin, D., Ruggieri, S., Annese, T. et al. Spatial distribution of mast cells around vessels and glands in human gastric carcinoma. Clin Exp Med 17, 531–539 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-017-0452-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-017-0452-7

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