Identification of mast cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid : comparison between different fixation and staining methods

The present study was carried out to compare the effectiveness of different fixation and staining methods in the identification of mast cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage from patients with interstitial lung diseases. Cell preparations were fixed with formaldehyde or methanol. Mast cells were identified by metachromatic staining with May Grunwald Giemsa, Toluidine blue or Gallamine blue Giemsa. After formaldehyde fixation only a few mast cells were identified, regardless of the stain method used. In contrast, a significantly higher number of mast cells were observed after methanol fixation. Using this fixative, Toluidine blue stain showed a higher number of mast cells than May Grunwald Giemsa. However, there was no difference between Toluidine and Gallamine blue Giemsa in the number of cells observed. The easy identification of mast cells after staining with toluidine, combined with its easy application, suggest that Toluidine blue stain after methanol fixation is the most useful method for determining the presence of mast cells in lavage fluid.