Comparison between the collagen intensity and mast cell density in the lingual muscles and myocardium of autopsied chronic chagasic and nonchagasic patients.

In chronic Chagas' disease (CD), an increase in collagen intensity and mast cell density has been described individually in the myocardium and tongue muscles. The aim of this study was to compare the percentage of collagen, mast cell tryptase (MCT) density, and mast cell chymase (MCH) density in the lingual muscles and myocardium from autopsied chagasic (CP) and nonchagasic patients (NCP). The selected cases were divided into two groups: (1) CP (n = 10) and (2) NCP (n = 10). Fragments were removed from the tongue and heart. After histological processing, the slices were stained with picrosirius, and immunohistochemistry was performed for MCH and MCT. The CP group showed the highest MCH and MCT densities and the highest percentage of collagen in the lingual muscles and myocardium when compared with the NCP group (p < 0.05). A significant positive correlation was observed between the collagen intensity and MCH density in the myocardium of the CP group. Although there are no reports in the literature of MCT and MCH in CD, its higher densities as well as higher percentage of collagen were found in the lingual muscles and myocardium in the CP group, suggesting that tryptase and chymase are associated with the pathogenesis of CD in these organs. Furthermore, the positive and significant correlation between the percentage of collagen and MCH density in the myocardium of the CP group suggests that the chymase is associated with fibrosis in CD, as demonstrated in other diseases.