THE EFFECT OF COLD STRESS, ACTH, CORTISONE, PYROGEN, AND NITROGEN MUSTARD ON TISSUE MAST CELLS IN THE SKIN AND SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUES OF THE RAT

[摘要] Seventy groups of rats were studied by means of a full-thickness skin biopsy counting technique and by a subcut. tissue spread method in order to determine the effect of cold stress, ACTH, cortisone, a pyrogen (Pyromen) and N mustard on the concn. and morph. of tissue mast cells. No consistent change in the concn. of mast cells in skin before and after cold stress, ACTH, and cortisone treatments could be demonstrated. Variations in the morphologic characters of size, shape, grouping and granulation, and in metachromatic staining with toluidine blue observed in subcutan. tissue spreads after treatments with cold stress, ACTH, cortisone, and Pyromen were not consistently different from the variations observed before the treatments. Treatment with N mustard caused true cytotoxic degeneration of many tissue mast cells within 48 hrs. following the intrav. admn. Implications of these findings in relation to the possible role of mast cells as a source of the non-specific hyaluronidase inhibitor in blood serum were discussed.