El mastocit cutani com a cèl.lula productora de citocines (TNF\alpha, IL-1, IL-6): paper en la fase crònica de la dermatitis atòpica canina

Mast cells are the main effectors of hypernsenitivity reactions. As it has been previously demonstrated, cutaneous mast cells play an essential rol in the pathogenesis of canine atopic dermatitis, a disease wich may serve as animal model for human atopic dermatitis. Nowadays, it is broadly accepted that the acute reponse is only partly responsible for the clinical signs observed in atopic dermatitis and that a chronic response takes place simultaneously in the skin. The aim of the project is to demostrate that mast cells qre of main importance in the developement of the chronic response by means of production and release af cytokines that promote recruitment and accumulation of inrflammatory cells in the skin. To crry out the study, mast cells from healthy canine skin, from canine skin hypersensitive to Ascaris suum and from canine atopic skin, as well as mast cells from stable canine mast cell tumor cultures will be used. The presence and location of cytokines and their sybthesis in the acute and chronic phases of canine atopy will be deonstrated on these cell populations by means of bioessay, immunocytochemistry, immunoelectron microscopy and in situ hybridization techniques.