title: [Roles of cardiac mast cells and Toll-like receptor 4 in viral myocarditis among mice].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role and significance of cardiac mast cells and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the development and progression of viral myocarditis (VMC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight Balb/c mice were randomly divided into a control group (n=24) and a model group (n=24). Coxsackievirus B3 was intraperitoneally injected into the model group mice to establish a VMC model. In each group, cardiac tissues were collected from 8 mice at 7, 14 and 28 days after the model was established. The cardiac tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin as well as Masson trichrome to observe pathological changes in cardiac tissues. The number and degranulation of cardiac mast cells at each time point were measured and evaluated by toluidine blue staining and transmission electron microscopy. The mRNA and protein expression of TLR4 in cardiac tissues was measured by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. In the model group, the correlation between number of cardiac mast cells and mRNA expression of TLR4 at all time points was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The model group had significantly higher pathological scores of cardiac tissues than the control group at all time points (P<0.05). The myocardial collagen volume fraction in the model group at 28 days was significantly higher than in the control group at all time points and higher than in the model group at 7 and 14 days (P<0.05). At each time point, the model group had a significantly increased number of mast cells (P<0.05), and significantly increased mRNA and protein expression of TLR4 (P<0.05) compared with the control group. In the model group, the number of cardiac mast cells was positively correlated with the mRNA expression of TLR4 at all time points (R<suP>2</suP>=0.877, P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mice with VMC have significantly increased numbers of cardiac mast cells and expression of TLR4 compared with control mice at all time points, suggesting that mast cells and TLR4 may play important roles in the inflammatory response and fibrosis of VMC.
authors.affiliation: Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China. ccyzdh@126.com.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lin-Feng
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Zuo-Cheng
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chun-Yuan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003384:Coxsackievirus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D029822:Enterovirus B, Human; D005260:Female; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000276:immunology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C493487:Tlr4 protein, mouse; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4