Vodenicharov, A., N. Tsandev, G. Kostadinov & I. Stefanov, 2018. Comparative study of heparin- and toluidine blue positive mast cells in porcine lumbar spinal ganglia. Bulg. J. Vet. Med., 21, No 4, 391–396.

DOI: 10.15547/bjvm.1090

In the present study, toluidine blue for metachromasia and berberine sulfate for heparin fluorescence were used to determine the localisation and distribution of mast cells as well as the percent of heparin-positive cells (MCH) in normal lumbar spinal ganglia (dorsal root ganglia) of domestic swine. Mast cells density was established after estimating the number of these cells per ganglion. Mast cells with metachromasia (MCTB) were observed predominantly in the ganglion capsule near the blood vessels. The number of mast cells inside the ganglia (2.10±1.45 in males and 2.20±1.03 in females) was significantly lower than in the capsule (13.30±1.95 in males and 13.60±2.42 in females) in both genders (P<0.001). Sexual dimorphism of the studied parameters was not established except for the slightly higher number of mast cells localised inside the left spinal ganglia of females than in males (P<0.05). The localisation of heparin-positive mast cells and the ratio between them and mast cells stained with toluidine blue (almost 2:1) was also determined. The percentage of heparin-positive mast cells in the ganglion capsule was 4 %, whereas inside the ganglion – 40%.

Key words: heparin, mast cells, pig, spinal ganglia, toluidine blue