Intestinal adenomas of Min-mice lack enterochromaffin cells, and have increased lysozyme production in non-Paneth cells.

BACKGROUND Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) are important in maintaining normal epithelial mucosa. Intestinal tissues with mutations in Apc have disturbed cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. Paneth and enterochromaffin cells were studied in the intestine and intestinal adenomas from Min-mice with heterozygote and homozygote mutations in Apc, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS The presence of Paneth and enterochromaffin cells in normal intestine and adenomas from Min-mice was studied in sections stained with lysozyme/PAS and connexin32. RESULTS Min-mice intestinal adenomas had an increased number of lysozyme-producing Paneth/goblet and non-Paneth cells and a reduced number of enterochromaffin cells. The large intestine had a significantly higher number of enterochromaffin cells than the small intestine and more were seen in the large intestine of Min- compared with wt-mice. CONCLUSION Altered cell differentiation in adenomas might be caused by different response to Wnt-signalling, while an increased number of enterochromaffin cells in the large intestine is rather an effect of a heterozygous Apc(Min) mutation.