Background
Interaction between tumor cells and the surrounding stroma is one of the key aspects in the mechanism of tumor cell proliferation and invasion [
1]. Tumor cells do remodel the extracellular matrix (ECM), a complex mixture of fibers (collagen, reticular and elastic) and ground substance that provides cell support [
2], to facilitate communication and escape of the control by the microenvironment [
3]. The collagen fibrillar system acts as a supporting framework of tissues, where reticular fibers connect collagen fibers with the basal laminae of epithelial, muscle and adipose cells; the microfibril-elastin system plays a role in uniformly distributing stress to maintain the resilience to local tissue requirements [
4].
Structural and functional integrity of the collagen fibrillar and microfibril-elastin systems are important for the stomach to pack the food, to secrete enzymes and acids to break the raw nutrients and to transfer the mixture to the small intestine. The three tasks depend of the extrinsic (sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomous nervous system) and the intrinsic innervation (enteric nervous system - ENS). The principal components of the ENS are two networks or plexuses of neurons and nervous fibers, the myenteric and submucosal plexus [
5]. The ENS importance for the regulation of the gastrointestinal functions is observed after the topical application of the cationic surfactant, benzalkonium chloride (BAC), on the serous layer that results in partial and selective destruction of myenteric plexus neurons [
6]. The correlation between carcinogenesis and the ENS has been demonstrated in experimental models using the myenteric denervation by BAC and the induction of tumors by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) [
7] and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) [
8] with a reduction in the incidence and size of gastrointestinal tumors.
Immune cells are potent sources of paracrine signals to the ENS. Particularly enteric mast cells are strategically located and have powerful pharmacological mediators that act in the face of immunological stimuli that can affect the integrity of the gastrointestinal tract [
9]. The antibody binding to mast cells makes them able to recognize specific antigens and signal their presence to ENS. ENS, in turn, interprets the chemical signals of mast cells as a threat and seeks to eliminate it, thus providing a protective response [
9]. The presence of mast cells has been described in several neoplasias, with pro or anti-tumor roles played by their bioactive mediators released by the influence of the tumor microenvironment [
10‐
12]. The action of pro-tumor mediators such as histamine, tryptase and chymase may promote migration and cell proliferation inducing the expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells and thus activating the process of tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and proliferation [
13‐
15]. On the other hand, some cytokines such as interleukin (IL) -2 and -21, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and heparin released by mast cells, can act as anticancer agents by inhibiting their growth [
16,
17].
Several studies have shown that during carcinogenesis there is an increase in the number of mast cells, observed in neurofibromas, lipomas, hemangiomas, tumors of the adrenal gland and skin [
18], squamous cell carcinomas [
19], laryngeal squamous cell [
20] and gastric carcinomas [
21]. In gastric adenocarcinomas, the small release of the contents stored in cytoplasmic granules of mast cells was associated with changes in the microvascular basal laminae, including irregular thickness, multiple layers and a weak association with endothelial cells and pericytes that contribute to the remodeling of blood vessels [
22]. After surgical removal of gastric cancer, survival studies showed that patients with increased number of mast cells showed a worse prognosis compared to patients with low numbers of them.
The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of chemical ablation of myenteric neurons on the distribution of the extracellular matrix fibers and mast cells in the gastric mucosa of non-denervated and denervated stomachs, and in a model of gastric carcinogenesis induced by MNNG administration in rats.
Discussion
In this study was investigated the histopathological changes and distribution of the extracellular matrix (ECM) fibrillar components, and mast cells in the pyloric region of rat stomachs non-denervated or denervated by benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and, non-treated or treated with the carcinogen N -methyl-N '-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG).
Initially, the histopathological and stereological analysis showed no changes in the relative volume of the epithelial and stromal compartments in the pyloric fragments from non-denervated (group I) and denervated stomachs (group II). However, the study of fibrillar components of ECM in these specimens revealed that BAC denervation causes an increase in the frequency of reticular and elastic system fibers in the denervated gastric mucosa (group II) compared to non-denervated (group I), as demonstrated by histochemical and stereological analysis using Gomori reticulin and Weigert's Resorcin-Fuchsin staining, respectively. Probably, the absence of contractile stimulation caused by myenteric denervation in these fragments (group II) contribute to an increase in the synthesis of reticular and elastic fibers by smooth muscle cells and/or a new association of fibers in the stroma as a mechanism to adequate the peristaltic wave coordination, and to prevent stasis in denervated organs [
32‐
34].
Treatment of non-denervated (group III) and denervated (group IV) animals with MNNG induced the development of malignant tumors (adenocarcinomas), benign tumors (adenomatous polyps) and precancerous lesions (dysplasia and atrophic gastritis). The development of adenocarcinomas in both non-denervated and denervated stomachs was able to promote a significant increase in the relative volume of the stromal compartment. During the tumor development in the prostate or gastric mucosa, the interaction stroma/epithelium is disrupted and imposed a new condition associated to the morphologic changes of extracellular matrix components and tumor growth [
35]. The epithelial cell proliferation in both malignant and benign lesions causes changes located in the gland, followed by a focal remodeling of the fibrillar components in the extracellular matrix [
27].
In this aspect, the histochemical analysis showed a significant increase on the reticular fibers of the adenocarcinoma (group III) compared to the non-denervated stomachs without lesions (group I). The increase of stromal collagen fibers represents a mechanism by which tumor cells could escape the "attack" of T lymphocytes (CD8
+ ) and to induce apoptosis, that would act as a barrier to the infiltration of CD8
+ [
36]. Despite a not significant alteration on the elastic system, a disruption of these fibers was observed in adenocarcinomas of the non-denervated stomach (group III), with the presence of bodies of elastic elements fractionated, suggesting a degradation or remodeling of the stroma in response to injury under the influence of neoplastic cells. These changes in elastic system fibers were simultaneous with the remodeling of collagen fibers, also observed in prostatic lesions [
37] and in the prostatic stroma during this gland regression following castration [
38,
39]. According to these results, the aggressive tumor could be evaluated by the fibrous components of the matrix. A more developed mesh of collagen fibers found in neoplastic lesions benign or malignant of non-denervated stomachs associated with degradation of elastic fibers would be responsible for an appropriate support that ensures the success of tumor growth.
On the other hand, in the denervated stomach with adenocarcinoma (group IV), the increase of stroma was not accompanied by increased of reticular and elastic fiber compared to denervated stomachs without lesion (group II), suggesting that the myenteric denervation prior to the process of carcinogenesis could protect the gastric mucosa from the development of the lesion. The precancerous and neoplastic lesions of denervated stomachs by BAC also showed a web of reticular and elastic system fibers without degradation probably synthesized prior to the installation of the lesion; this situation may have contributed to a smaller development of gastric lesions.
In addition to morphological changes of ECM fibrillar components, development of adenocarcinomas in the denervated stomach (group IV) was associated with inflammatory infiltrate most intense in the stroma in relation to the stomach without denervation (III). This exacerbation of the inflammatory response could be attributed to anti-inflammatory action of the nervous system that is able to gather information about inflammatory events in various locations, mobilizing defenses and thus contributing to a more efficient immune memory [
40].
The parasympathetic nervous system, which includes the vagus nerve, is recognized as a powerful agent in neuroimmune inflammation of the digestive system [
41]. Its anti-inflammatory action seems to be related to its main neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, capable of inhibiting the activation of immune cells by binding to its receptors on monocytes and macrophages [
42,
43], dendritic cells [
44] and mast cells [
45,
46].
Knowing that inflammation is also involved in the process of tumorigenesis by regulating the growth, migration and differentiation of cells in the tumor microenvironment through the action of inflammatory cells [
47], the next step of this study was to characterize the distribution of these cells, particularly mast cells in this experimental model. The pathological examinations revealed no changes in the number of mast cells between the non-denervated (I) and denervated (II) gastric antrum. However, the gastric lesions induced by MNNG in the experimental groups with and without myenteric denervation (III and IV) showed a significant increase in the number of mast cells in the non-denervated group (I). Moreover, the morphological study of mast cells demonstrated the presence of intact and degranulated cells in similar proportions in the mucosal and submucosal, region of tumors, in both experimental groups. The increase in the density of mast cells has been linked to several types of cancer such as melanoma, ovarian cancer, head and neck carcinomas, breast, lung [
10‐
12] and gastric cancers [
14,
21,
22,
48]. The action of mast cell can be pro or anti-tumor depending on the mediators released into the microenvironment [
10‐
12]. Among these mediators, stand out pro-angiogenic factors, such as heparanase and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tryptase and chymases that provide tumor growth. Moreover, some cytokines (IL-2, IL-21 and TNF) and heparin can act as anti-tumor mediators, released by mast cells, limiting tumor progression [
10].
The study of phenotypic characterization of mast cells was based on the method of Alcian Blue-Safranin [
21,
30] to classify them as mucosal (MMC) and connective tissue mast cells (CTMC). In animals of non-denervated (I) and denervated (II) groups there was a predominance of MMC in the mucosal and submucosal layers of gastric antrum confirming published data [
49,
50]. In non-denervated or denervated stomachs treated with MNNG (groups III and IV), this cell subtype increased significantly compared to the group I. Beyond MMC, the denervated gastric antrum of animals treated with MNNG (IV) showed a significant increase in other cell subtype alcian blue-safranin positive, suggesting a phenotypic change of MMC to CTMC associated with denervation. This high density of CTMC was observed mainly in the muscular layer of the antrum, the region most affected by myenteric denervation [
7]. Osinski and colleagues [
51] also described a phenotypic change of mast cells in the jejunum muscular layer of rats following myenteric denervation, revealed by the fluorescence of berberine sulfate in the cytoplasmic granules of mast cells. According to the phenotypes, mast cells may mediate immunosuppression, contributing to a more efficient immune tolerance [
11]. The cytoplasmic granules of CTMC contain heparin which has an anti-tumor role demonstrated by studies using the implant in mice 4T1 cells (cell line of mammary adenocarcinoma) treated or not with imatinib, a drug that induces cell death [
52]. The animals that received the implant of cells treated with imatinib developed larger tumors compared to tumors in animals implanted with untreated cells. In the same study, the researchers showed that mice deficient for the heparin synthesis showed an increase in tumor growth, suggesting a lowering effect of this mediator in tumor development. Thus, the protective effect of myenteric denervation on the development of tumors in rats could also be attributed to phenotypic changes of mast cells from MMC to CTMC, contributing to the release of anti-tumor mediators.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
ACPL carried out the experimental design. SZ was responsible for histopathology and classification of gastric lesions. CFE and CBM carried out the morphological and statistical analysis of extracellular matrix fibers and mast cells. SRT performed the stereological analysis. CDG and ACPL conceived and coordinated the study. CFE, ACPL and CDG wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.