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Mast cell hyperplasia in Opisthorchis viverrini-associated cholecystitis

  • Immunology and Host-Parasite Interactions - Short Communication
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Abstract

Despite significant advances in understanding the role of the immune response in Opisthorchis viverrini-associated carcinogenesis, little is known about how infection induces gall bladder disease. This study investigated whether mast cells are activated in cholecystitis associated with O. viverrini, gall bladder specimens from ninety-two patients who had undergone cholecystectomy at the Khon Kaen Regional Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Two representative sections from the body of fresh gall bladder tissue were fixed in Carnoy’s solution and embedded in paraffin wax. The paraffin sections were stained for mast cells and IgE plasma cells by the double histochemical and immunohistochemical method. The cells in the epithelium, lamina propria, muscular layer, and subserosa were counted and expressed as cells per square millimeter. The gall bladder bile was examined for the presence of O. viverrini eggs. Significantly higher mean mast cell numbers were found in the lamina propria (221.41 ± 16.01 vs 116.97 ± 14.61 cells per mm2; P < 0.005) of egg positive compared to egg negative groups, respectively. No comparable differences in mast cell number were observed in other layers. IgE plasma cells were rarely seen. The results suggest that mast cell hyperplasia occurs during cholecystitis in association with opisthorchiasis and may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.

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Acknowledgments

This work was generously supported by the Tropical Health Program, the University of Queensland. The authors would like to thank Dr. G. Mayrhofer, University of Adelaide, Australia, for the anti-IgE provision and Prof. J.C. Kerr, University of Queensland Medical School, for reviewing the manuscript. All participating staff in Khon Kaen Regional Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, are greatly acknowledged. BS is KKU Senior Research Scholar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Control of Opisthorchiasis (Southeast Asian Liver Fluke Disease), Tropical Disease Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Banchob Sripa

  2. Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services), University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Melissa R. Haswell

  3. School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia

    Melissa R. Haswell

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  1. Banchob Sripa
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  2. Melissa R. Haswell
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Correspondence to Banchob Sripa.

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Sripa, B., Haswell, M.R. Mast cell hyperplasia in Opisthorchis viverrini-associated cholecystitis. Parasitol Res 120, 373–376 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06937-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06937-4

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