METHODS OF VISUALIZATION OF MAST CELLS (LITERATURE REVIEW)

Abstract

Mast cells play an important role in many processes occurring in the human body. These include inflammation, allergic reactions, parasitic infections, carcinogenesis and others. Therefore, the detection of mast cells plays an important role in the diagnosis of pathological conditions. The purpose of the study is to summarize data on imaging methods of mast cells. Materials and methods. Review of available literature sources published in Elibrary and PubMed. Results. There are several major groups of methods for finding mast cells: histochemical, enzyme-linked histochemical and immunohistochemical. All are based on the ability to detect specific substances contained in mast cell granules. Histochemical methods include Unno, alcian blue and safranin staining of mast cells and others. The most modern method is mast cell visualisation using immunohistochemical reactions based on antigen-antibody reactions. Conclusion. This review presents the most common methods of mast cell staining, differing in difficulty of performance, specificity in relation to mast cells and staining cost.