On the Ultrastructure of Mast Cells and Globule Leucocytes in the Common Bile Duct of Cattle Chronically Infected With Fasciola Hepatica |
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| Authors: | Timo Rahko |
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| Institution: | Department of Pathology and the Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hämeentie 57, 00550 Helsinki 55, Finland |
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| Abstract: | Mast cells and globule leucocytes in the walls of the common bile ducts of seven uninfected slaughtered cows and of five cows chronically infected with Fasciola hepatica were studied by electron microscopy. The mast cells displayed numerous small intracytoplasmic granules, the matrixes of which were either strongly electron-opaque and homogeneous or less dense with a fine-granular ultrastructure. Unattached ribosomes were abundant in the cytoplasm of the cells. Many mast cells in the walls of chronically infected bile ducts were normal-looking while the cells in the subepithelial tissues often showed striking irregularities in the ultrastructure of the granules. Globule leucocytes were most numerous in the surface epithelium and were not connected by desmosomes to the epithelial cells. The nuclei of the globule leucocytes were similar to those in the mast cells except that indentations caused by the globules were more usually seen. The globules were considerably larger than the mast cell granules but bounded by similar agranular capsules. The matrix of most globules was dense and homogeneous while the other globules showed dense reticulate or lamellate structures. The relationship between the mast cell and globule leucocyte in the liver is briefly discussed with reference to recent reports on these cells in the intestinal wall. |
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| Keywords: | electron microscopy mast cell globule leucocyte fascioliasis cattle |
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