Medline searches (including abstracts) and perusal of several recent
articles indicates the need for additional research regarding mast cells
would be helpful regarding mast cell locations, contents, and migrations.
Most recent articles seem to generalize about human-brain mast cells
primarily from human phenomena such as Alzheimer's (etc) and from
increasing data derived from the study of rats, wherein findings suggest
quite nifty nuances such as developmental versus adult patterns (1),
mast cell differences in specific tissues (2), and an increasingly wide
number of brain tissues having mast cells in non-disease states (3-4).
So far as I can tell (and would hope to be informed otherwise if such
studies exist), whether or not mast cells in any given brain region
transcribe the GnRH gene and produce GnRH remains to be determined.
Also, whether mast-cell GnRH (be it collected or produced) exists in
primates remains to be determined for any of the neural tissues involved in
olfactory/vno/respiratory-epithelial processing and in reproduction,
including the habenula.
But aside from the Silver R et al findings regarding GnRH, mast cells,
and the avian habenula, a general theme that seems to be emerging is that
mast cells in the brain (in non-diseased states) contribute in various
ways to neuronal function (1-4).
1)
au: Lambrach-Hall M et al
so: Developmental Brain Res 56.151-9 1990
ti: Migration of mast cells in the developing rat brain.
2)
au: Theoharides TC
so: Life Sciences 46.607-17 1990
ti: Mast cells: the immune gate to the brain.
3)
au: Purcell WM & Atterwill CK
so: Neurochem Res 20.5.521-532 1995
ti: Mast cells in neuroimmune function: neurotoxicological and
neuropharmacological perspectives.
4)
au: Johnson D & Krenger W
so: Neurochem Res 17.9.939-51 1992
ti: Interactions of mast cells with the nervous system - recent advances.
Teresa
Teresa C. Binstock, Researcher
Developmental & Behavioral Neuroanatomy
Denver CO USA
Teresa.Binstock at uchsc.edu
