Phenotypic Modulation of Gallbladder Smooth Muscle Cells During the Development of Acalculous Cholecystitis
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: The aim of the study was to analyse ultrastructural changes in the smooth muscle tissue of different gallbladder sections during the development of experimental acalculous cholecystitis. Materials and methods. The research was performed on 20 guinea pigs. The duration of the experiment ranged from 4 to 15 days. Each experimental and control group included 5 animals. A standard model of chronic acalculous cholecystitis was used, in which ligation of the proximal part of the common bile duct is accompanied by inflammation and impaired gallbladder motility. Results. In guinea pigs with cholecystitis, on day 15 of the experiment using electron microscopic examination we revealed cells in the smooth muscle tissue that retain a well-structured contractile apparatus, represented by separate thin bundles of myofilaments, and a developed synthetic apparatus. The ultrastructural organization of this type of cells is quite characteristic of myofibroblasts. Studying the modulation of gallbladder smooth muscle cells in an experiment, we need to take into account that in the conditions of inflammation and impaired gallbladder motility, during the restructuring of the intercellular matrix, myofibroblasts can appear, causing the development of sclerotic processes in the organ wall due to their ability to express high levels of collagen and glycosaminoglycans, as well as numerous other extracellular matrix molecules and fibrogenic cytokines. The research showed that adenomyomatous hyperplasia of the gallbladder wall is accompanied by proliferation of myofibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. Thus, impaired stromal-epithelial interactions can be assumed to underlie the pathology in adenomyomatous hyperplasia of the gallbladder.
Author: Andrey L. Zashikhin
Institution: Northern State Medical University
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4281663277