Correlation between Mast Cells & Liver Disease
Introduction:
Our guest speaker was Heather Francis PhD who works at both Baylor Scott and White and adjuncts at Texas A&M University. She is a research scientist who has dedicated her studies into the correlation between mast cells and liver diseases. Dr. Francis, along with her research team, has found a link between some hepatic pathologies: cancer and cirrhosis, and an increase in the number of mast cells.
Paracrine Interaction:
Dr. Francis began with looking at paracrine interaction in the liver between cholangiocytes and mast cells. Mast cells play a role in the progression of liver diseases. The liver is a vital part of the body because it excretes waste through bile, converts excess glucose …show more content…
Francis first proposed the idea of mast cells in the liver being the cause of the increased amount of histamines, she was somewhat dismissed. This is because it was formerly believed that mast cells are not present in the liver. After performing BDL’s and partial hepatectomies (surgical removal of liver) in rats, she shockingly discovered that mast cells infiltrated the liver tissue.
Dr. Francis and her team were then faced with the task of not only isolating the mast cells, but to also manipulate them for observation. They exposed the mast cells to an asthmatic drug, which blocks receptor binding and therefore there was no histamine release.
Another form of manipulation was taking mast cells from rats and injecting them into mice that genetically had no mast cells in the liver. This resulted in a proliferation of mast cells in the liver even though some were lost. This evidence shows that mast cells play a role in regulating this response.
Conclusion:
It appears from the research conducted by Dr. Francis and her team that there is in fact a relationship between the presence of mast cells in the liver and liver diseases. They are currently working on the theory that introduction of anti-histamine drugs, gastric blockers, and asthmatic drugs can have favorable effects on those with liver injuries or damage.
Critique
Positive …show more content…
Francis did highlight that during her research mast cells in tumors were treated with asthmatic drugs. This resulted in a significant reduction of protein kinase and tryptase. Protein kinase, in summary, regulating most cellular functions: proliferation/cell cycle, cell metabolism, survival/apoptosis, damage repair, and cell motility to name a few. However these cells are activated in cancer cells and lead to the growth of tumors. Tryptase are enzymes that are present in an immune response. The team treated the mast cells in tumors from human tissue and observed a profound decrease of protein kinase and tryptase. There was also a reduction of the size of the tumor. This sort of treatment can be used to develop a drug that decreases tumor growth in humans and as a resource for future cancer
Introduction:
Our guest speaker was Heather Francis PhD who works at both Baylor Scott and White and adjuncts at Texas A&M University. She is a research scientist who has dedicated her studies into the correlation between mast cells and liver diseases. Dr. Francis, along with her research team, has found a link between some hepatic pathologies: cancer and cirrhosis, and an increase in the number of mast cells.
Paracrine Interaction:
Dr. Francis began with looking at paracrine interaction in the liver between cholangiocytes and mast cells. Mast cells play a role in the progression of liver diseases. The liver is a vital part of the body because it excretes waste through bile, converts excess glucose …show more content…
Francis first proposed the idea of mast cells in the liver being the cause of the increased amount of histamines, she was somewhat dismissed. This is because it was formerly believed that mast cells are not present in the liver. After performing BDL’s and partial hepatectomies (surgical removal of liver) in rats, she shockingly discovered that mast cells infiltrated the liver tissue.
Dr. Francis and her team were then faced with the task of not only isolating the mast cells, but to also manipulate them for observation. They exposed the mast cells to an asthmatic drug, which blocks receptor binding and therefore there was no histamine release.
Another form of manipulation was taking mast cells from rats and injecting them into mice that genetically had no mast cells in the liver. This resulted in a proliferation of mast cells in the liver even though some were lost. This evidence shows that mast cells play a role in regulating this response.
Conclusion:
It appears from the research conducted by Dr. Francis and her team that there is in fact a relationship between the presence of mast cells in the liver and liver diseases. They are currently working on the theory that introduction of anti-histamine drugs, gastric blockers, and asthmatic drugs can have favorable effects on those with liver injuries or damage.
Critique
Positive …show more content…
Francis did highlight that during her research mast cells in tumors were treated with asthmatic drugs. This resulted in a significant reduction of protein kinase and tryptase. Protein kinase, in summary, regulating most cellular functions: proliferation/cell cycle, cell metabolism, survival/apoptosis, damage repair, and cell motility to name a few. However these cells are activated in cancer cells and lead to the growth of tumors. Tryptase are enzymes that are present in an immune response. The team treated the mast cells in tumors from human tissue and observed a profound decrease of protein kinase and tryptase. There was also a reduction of the size of the tumor. This sort of treatment can be used to develop a drug that decreases tumor growth in humans and as a resource for future cancer