AN IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL STUDY ON RELATIONS BETWEEN MAST-CELL AND PEPTIDERGIC TERMINALS IN NASAL-MUCOSA OF CHRONIC RHINITIS PATIENTS

Mast cell-nerve relation is a new topic explored deeply in different o rgans, but little documentation could be found in the literature on th e relation in human nasal mucosa, We carried out this study using immu nocytochemistry and found that substance P (SP) terminals were present in human nasal mucosa from six eases of chronic rhinitis. SP terminal s were often found to be adjacent to or have a direct contact with mas t cells (MCs). Electron-microscopic studies revealed that MCs could co ntact nonmyelinated nerve terminals. These results have important impl ications in the understanding of the pathogenesis of neurogenic inflam mation seen in nasal mucosa and will probably cast new insight into th e future treatment of such disease.