Mast cell dependent vascular changes associated with an acute response to cold immersion in primary contact urticaria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While a number of the consequences of mast cell degranulation within tissues have been documented including tissue-specific changes such as bronchospasm and the subsequent cellular infiltrate, there is little known about the immediate effects of mast cell degranulation on the associated vasculature, critical to understanding the evolution of mast cell dependent inflammation.

Objective

To characterize the microcirculatory events that follow mast cell degranulation.

Methodology/principal findings

Perturbations in dermal blood flow, temperature and skin color were analyzed using laser-speckle contrast imaging, infrared and polarized-light colorimetry following cold-hand immersion (CHI) challenge in patients with cold-induced urticaria compared to the response

SUBMITTER: Meyer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3579929 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature