Morphological Features of Foreign Body Giant Cells in Experimental Conditions

International Journal of Biomedicine 11(2) (2021) 212-215 http://dx.doi.org/10.21103/Article11(2)_OA15 ORIGINAL ARTICLE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICINE Experimental Biology Morphological Features of Foreign Body Giant Cells in Experimental Conditions Mariya A. Zatolokina1*; Ekaterina S. Mishina1; Alexander A. Sozykin2; Marina V. Gorbunova3; Alexander G. Alekseev3 Kursk State Medical University, Kursk, Russia Rostov State Medical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia 3 Medical Institute, Orel State University named after I.S. Turgenev, Orel, Russia 1 2 Abstract Background: The purpose of our work was determined by the accumulation of a significant amount of experimental material under the conditions of implantation of a foreign body, a mesh implant, into the region of the anterior abdominal wall in order to obtain experimental inflammation, in which foreign body giant cells (FBGCs) were constantly visualized as reactive formations. This research aimed to study the dynamics of morphological changes in FBGCs under conditions of experimental implantation of a foreign body, a mesh implant, and the possible mechanism of their formation Methods and Results: This study was carried out on male Wistar rats, in which a foreign body was implanted—a mesh endoprosthesis made of polypropylene—in the region of the anterior abdominal wall under the aponeurosis of the rectus abdominis muscles. A section of the anterior abdominal wall with the implanted endoprosthesis was excised on Days 10, 21, 30, and 60 after surgery, fixed in 10% buffered formalin solution. The obtained samples were embedded in paraffin according to standard prescriptions; histological sections with a thickness of 5-7µm were made and stained with H&E, according to the methods of Van Gieson and Mallory, and an immunohistochemical study was performed using the marker of cell proliferation (Ki-67). The revealed structural features of multinucleated cells were recorded by microphotography using a photo attachment and a Levenhuk video camera (USA). During the study, it was revealed that the amount, functional activity and morphological diversity of FBGCs gradually increased, reaching a maximum by Day 30 of the experiment. At a later date, some of them died, while the remaining part was differentiated, splitting into small multinucleated cells and mononuclear elements, morphologically identical to macrophages and fibroblasts. The formation of FBGCs continued as long as the mesh implant was in the body. Conclusion: FBGCs are reactive formations that arise in response to various endo- and exogenous irritation.(International Journal of Biomedicine. 2021;11(2):212-215.) Key Words: foreign body giant cells • multinucleated giant cells • endoprosthetics • reactivity • phagocytosis For citation: Zatolokina MA, Mishina ES, Sozykin AA, Gorbunova MV, Alekseev AG. Morphological Features of Foreign Body Giant Cells in Experimental Conditions. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2021;11(2):212-215. doi:10.21103/Article11(2)_ OA15 Introduction Multinucleated elements include striated muscle fibers, mesenchymal tissue at a certain stage of its development, and multinucleated cells that appear as reactive formations *Corresponding author: Prof. Mariya A. Zatolokina, PhD, ScD. Department of Histology, Embryology, and Cytology. Kursk State Medical University. Kursk, Russia. E-mail: in reticular, connective, and epithelial tissues. The nonnomenclature designation of multinucleated cells is extremely diverse, in particular, osteoclasts (multinucleated cells of bone tissue), as well as foreign body giant cells (FBGCs) and Langhans cells, which can be found in connective tissue in inflammation.(13) I.I. Mechnikov first noticed the role of the FBGCs: In 1883, I.I. Mechnikov experimentally confirmed the phagocytic function of FBGCs, and also believed that FBGCs appear as reactive formations in inflammation of various etiologies.(4) M. A. Zatolokina et al. / International Journal of Biomedicine 11(2) (2021) 212-215 Currently, the majority of domestic and foreign authors are of the opinion that FBGCs are physiological elements of the connective tissue system, and their number, size, and degree of phagocytic activity serve as criteria for determining the degree of connective tissue reactivity. At the beginning of the last century, A. Nemilov (1937) wrote that the morphogenesis of FBGCs has a special biological significance, manifested by the general ability of a multicellular organism to respond to changes in environmental conditions by changing the degree of dissection of the multinucleated giant cells (MNGCs). Considering the fact that FBGCs occur in some organs with certain functional rearrangements, under conditions of various experimental influences during regenerative processes and are reactive formations with the function of phagocytosis, it seems appropriate to dwell in more detail on the methods of their formation described in the available literature.(5,6) There are two theories that claim to explain the genesis of FBGCs: the proliferative theory and the syncytial theory. The adherents of the first theory believe that multinucleation occurs as a result of direct or indirect division of the nucleus of one cell. Supporters of the second theory are of the opinion that FBGCs arise from the fusion of several mononuclear cells. At the same time, there is also a third opinion, the authors of which consider both ways of their occurrence equally possible. There are also several points of view regarding the further fate of FBGCs. Most researchers claim that after fulfilling their phagocytic and resorbing functions, FBGCs die. A smaller group of researchers believe that multinucleated cells are stable viable formations capable of long-term differentiation, up to splitting into mononuclear cells, and only a few authors note that multinucleated cells are an accumulation of degenerating cells fused with each other.(7) The purpose of our work was determined by the accumulation of a significant amount of experimental material under the conditions of implantation of a foreign body, a mesh implant, into the region of the anterior abdominal wall in order to obtain experimental inflammation, in which FBGCs were constantly visualized as reactive formations. This research aimed to study the dynamics of morphological changes in FBGCs under conditions of experimental implantation of a foreign body, a mesh implant, and the possible mechanism of their formation and their state under experimental conditions. Materials and Methods This study was carried out on male Wistar rats, in which a foreign body was implanted—a mesh endoprosthesis made of polypropylene—in the region of the anterior abdominal wall under the aponeurosis of the rectus abdominis muscles. In vivo experiments were carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, in strict compliance with the European Convention for the protection of animals used for experimen (...truncated)