Human Lung Mast Cells: Distribution and Abundance of Histochemically Distinct Subpopulations

Methods originally employed to demonstrate the heterogeneity of mast cells in the rat and more recently in the human intestine were used to study mast cell heterogeneity in the human bronchial mucosa and lung parenchyma. Thus, a quantitative survey of pulmonary mast cells using different fixation and staining procedures indicated that two distinct mast cell subpopulations (formalin-sensitive and formalin-resistant) are present and have distinct …