Macrophages and Mast Cells in the Gastric Mucosa of Patients with Obesity Undergoing Sleeve Gastrectomy

Abstract

Background. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) and mast cells (MCs) play a role in immune responses. More recently, their involvement in tumor angiogenesis and chronic inflammatory conditions in patients with obesity has been discovered. Furthermore, a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) value corresponds to a higher inflammatory state. In particular, gastric tissue in obesity (GTO) is characterized by Macrophages, Mast Cells Positive to Triptase (MCPT), and neo-formed microvessels (MVD). Materials and Methods. We collected gastric tissue samples from December 2021 to December 2022. The patients selected had a BMI > 35 kg/m2 with different comorbidities. Regarding the surgery, surgeons executed a Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LapSG). Gastric tissue was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and morphometrical assay, comparing “obese-related” gastric tissue to normal gastric tissue. Furthermore, tissue parameters were correlated with important clinicopathological features. Results. We collected thirty gastric tissue samples from thirty patients with obesity. Blood tests, Electrocardiogram (ECG), esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) associated with a urea breath test, and chest X.R. were performed. A significant correlation between ATMs, MCPT, MVD, and BMI was found in GTO. Pearson t-test analysis was conducted (r ranged from 0.67 to 0.71; p-value Conclusions. These preliminary data suggest that ATMs, MCPT, and MVD related to BMI can play a role in both gastric tissue angiogenesis and inflammation inducing a tissue change that could lead to gastric inflammation or cancer diseases.

Keywords

• obesity
• microenvironment
• sleeve gastrectomy
• immune cell
• cancer
• inflammation