Effects of Estrogen on Mucosal Structure and Numbers and Distribution of Intraepithelial Lymphocytes and Goblet Cells in Small Intestine of Rats

摘要

To study the effects of estrogen on the structure of the intestinal mucosal barrier, 18 healthy female Wistar Rats underwent estrus synchronization. In diestrus, they were divided into three groups: one sham operated control group (SHAM); one ovariectomized group (OVX); and one ovariectomized plus estradiol benzoate group (OVX+E2). Intestinal mucosal epithelial cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL), and goblet cells (GCs) were observed by light microscope. The results showed that in the OVX group, the intestinal mucosa damaged obviously, the villus atrophied, the ratio of villus height to crypt depth reduced, and the number of IELs and GCs reduced. The indicators of OVX+E2 group were significantly higher than OVX group, but some indicators were lower than SHAM. These indicated that the function of intestinal mucosal barrier was greatly damaged in ovariectomied rat, and proper dosage of estradiol benzoate would improve the function of small intestinal mucosal barrier in ovariectomied rat to some degree.