Quantitative recovery of isolated mucosal mast cells and globule leucocytes from parasitised sheep

A method of the quantitative recovery of mast cells and globule leucocytes from the gastric mucosa of parasitised sheep is described. The optimal yields of viable cells from small samples of tissue digested with collagenase and hyaluronidase were measured. Mast cell/globule leucocyte yields were significantly increased in sheep orally challenged with 3000 to 5000 Ostertagia circumcincta per day. In these groups as many as 23 per cent of the cells were mast cells/globule leucocytes. Enrichment of these cells was achieved by Percoll density gradient centrifugation and fractions containing 34 to 84 per cent mast cells/globule leucocytes were isolated.