Lymphatic mast cell response and effect of compound 48/80 on popliteal lymph node reaction in rats following intracutaneous injection ofStaphylococcus aureus

To investigate the significance of mast cells in the popliteal lymph node during the development of an inflammatory response, rats were inoculated with 12×10⁷ colony-forming units ofStaphylococcus aureus in the hind foot pad. Numerical changes in mast cells were then measured in the corresponding popliteal lymph node. Six days after inoculation, despite the enlargement of the responding lymph node, a marked decrease in granulated mast cell number, relative to the contralateral node, was observed in the cortical and medullary compartments. Popliteal lymph nodes from rats treated with compound 48/80 and then inoculated withS. aureus showed a higher cortical and medullary hypertrophic response and a significant increase in degranulated/weakly basophilic mast cell number in the lymph node tissue. The findings suggest that (1)Staphylococcus aureus induces a reduction in granulated mast cell number in the cortical and medullary compartments of regional lymph nodes; (2) pretreatment with compound 48/80 appears to contribute to the lymphoid cell proliferation and the hypertrophic response of lymph nodes induced byS. aureus; and (3) granulated mast cells have a regulatory role on lymphoid cell proliferation.