# Role of mucosal mast cells in visceral hypersensitivity



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

J Vet Sci. 2004 Dec;5(4):319-24. Related Articles, Links Role of mucosal mast cells in visceral hypersensitivity in a rat model of irritable bowel syndrome.La JH, Kim TW, Sung TS, Kim HJ, Kim JY, Yang IS.Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.The involvement of mucosal mast cells (MMC) in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is still controversial. We aimed to re-evaluate the role of MMC in visceral hypersensitivity associated with IBS using a rat IBS model that develops the IBS symptom after a subsidence of acetic acid-induced colitis. No significant difference in the number of MMC was observed between normal rat colon and IBS rat colon. (61.7 +/-2.9/mm(2) in normal vs. 88.7 +/-13.3/mm(2) in IBS, p 0.29). However, the degranulation rate of MMC was significantly higher in IBS rat colon (49.5 +/-2.4% in normal vs. 68.8 +/-3.4% in IBS, p 0.05). Pretreatment of a mast cell stabilizer, doxantrazole (5 mg/kg, i.p.), reduced the degranulation rate of MMC and significantly attenuated visceral hypersensitivity to rectal distension in IBS rat, whereas it had no effect on the visceral sensory responses in normal rat. These results suggest that, although the number of MMC is not significantly changed in IBS rat colon, the higher degranulation rate of MMC is responsible for visceral hypersensitivity in this model IBS.PMID: 15613815


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## Nath (Jan 5, 1999)

Am I right in saying doxantrazole is used to treat asthma? googling comes up with other studies using doxantrazole and another mast cell stabilizers like sodium cromoglycate, which is a asthma med.It would be intersting to see how asthma meds effect IBS.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Drugs that treat mast cells are typically used in asthma and allergy.Mastocytosis, which is a whole body mast cell disease also uses these drugs and symptoms of that are in the GI tract because you have mast cells pretty much anywhere things that come in from the outside meet the body (skin, airways, GI tract)K.


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## Nath (Jan 5, 1999)

Thanks Kath.Here are some references to the use of sodium cromoglycate to treat IBS. There old studies so Im guessing this line of research is not promosing, otherwise we would all know about it by now.Schiapparelli Searle, Torino. Food intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome of childhood: clinical efficacy of oral sodium cromoglycate and elimination diet. Minerva Pediatr 1993 Jun;45(6):253-8Leri O, Tubili S, De Rosa FG, et al. Management of diarrhoeic type of irritable bowel syndrome with exclusion diet and disodium cromoglycate. Infalmmopharmacology 1997; 5:153-8.Stefanini GF, Saggioro A, Alvisi V, Angelini G, Capurso L, di Lorenzo G, Dobrilla G, Dodero M, Galimberti M, Gasbarrini G, et al .Oral cromolyn sodium in comparison with elimination diet in the irritable bowel syndrome, diarrheic type. Multicenter study of 428 patients. Scand J Gastroenterol 1995 Jun;30(6):535-41


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I know a few people around here at one time (or was it the Usenet group....it was a while ago) had some luck with this.I think the issue is how much of the problem is in the nervous system, and how much for any given person does the mast cells trigger the nerves. If that was your major trigger for symptoms (either the mast cells going off, or how they talk to the nervous system) it could do some good, but it isn't the whole story for everyone.People with Mastocytosis have a lot of diarrhea issues and it helps with that...let me find something I posted here awhile ago that talks about the immune system vs nervous system stuffK.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...c;f=10;t=001007 Talks about the various issues with immune system vs nervous system.Like I said, I think some people do have good luck with the oral cromlyn, but it never got much widespread use.K.


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## Nath (Jan 5, 1999)

Its commin back to me now







Yeah I remember checking this out a while back, I think eric has posted research on this before, but oral cromoglycate isnt available here so I didnt follow it up.But it sounds like an option people with D should try as it has minimal side effects, what have they got to loose?


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

Why only D sufferers?


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## Nath (Jan 5, 1999)

Sorry, didnt mean to imply D only







They where testing it effects on viseral hypersensitivity and cramping. I was readin up on Mastocytosis, which may involve D, and being D myself I was interested in that angle.But like I said, sodium cromoglycate has minimal side effects so it might be worth your while reading up on it and giving it a shot


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