Epithelial cells shed from the intestinal villus in starved rats were trapped in mucus which the goblet cells were stimulated to secrete; the number of trapped cells per villus was counted in whole mounts of fixed Feulgen-stained specimens from three sites in the small intestine. Increase in the interval between stimulation and fixation caused an increase in the number of shed cells per villus;...

We address the mechanism by which adult intestinal stem cells (ISCs) become localized to the base of each villus during embryonic development. We find that, early in gut development, proliferating progenitors expressing ISC markers are evenly distributed throughout the epithelium, in both the chick and mouse. However, as the villi form, the putative stem cells become restricted to the base of t...

background & aim:  non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids) are commonly used in clinical medicine. the adverse effects they produce in the gastrointestinal tract however, often limit their utility. oxidative stress has been shown to occur in the small intestine in response to the oral administration of indomethacin. in view of this, the effect of thyme essential oil, an agent with an...

We examined the cell-specific subcellular expression patterns for sodium- and potassium-coupled chloride (NaK2Cl) cotransporter 1 (NKCC1), Na(+) bicarbonate cotransporter (NBCe1), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), and Na(+)/H(+) exchanger 3 (NHE3) to understand the functional plasticity and synchronization of ion transport functions along the crypt-villus axis and its ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of a combined use of extracts of medicinal herbs Taraxaumi mongolicum, Viola yedoensis Makino, Rhizoma coptidis, and Radix isatidis (MYCI) on porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Twenty-two 3-day-old piglets received an oral challenge with 3 × 10(3.5) TCID50 of the virulent PED virus (PEDV) in PBS or PBS only and daily oral administration of 60 mg...

Undernutrition represents a major public health challenge for middle- and low-income countries. This study aimed to evaluate whether a multideficient Northeast Brazil regional basic diet (RBD) induces acute morphological and functional changes in the ileum of mice. Swiss mice (∼25 g) were allocated into two groups: i) control mice were fed a standard diet and II) undernourished mice were fed th...

Development of the infant small intestine is influenced by bacterial colonization. To promote establishment of optimal microbial communities in preterm infants, knowledge of the beneficial functions of the early gut microbiota on intestinal development is needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of early preterm infant microbiota on host gut development using a gnotobioti...

To determine whether treatment with a potent protease-resistant analog of human glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) might augment the adaptive response to massive intestinal resection, rats were divided into resected, which had 75% of the midjejunoileum removed, sham-resected, and nonsurgical groups. Within each group, animals were assigned to 21 days of treatment with the drug (0.1 μg/g of the GLP...

In the adult intestine, an organized array of finger-like projections, called villi, provide an enormous epithelial surface area for absorptive function. Villi first emerge at embryonic day (E) 14.5 from a previously flat luminal surface. Here, we analyze the cell biology of villus formation and examine the role of paracrine epithelial Hedgehog (Hh) signals in this process. We find that, before...

The expression of sucrase-isomaltase mRNA was investigated along the crypt-villus axis of rat small intestine using differentially isolated cells and in situ hybridization. A partial rat sucrase-isomaltase cDNA was cloned which coded for a protein that was predicted to be 88% homologous to those encoded by the rabbit and human cDNAs. Southern blot analysis of rat genomic DNA indicated that the ...