Mucosal enzymes in the cecum of conventional and germfree mice

摘要

AbstractThe morphology of the cecal mucosa and the topographic distribution of certain mucosal enzymes were compared in conventional and germfree mice to investigate the phenomenon of cecal enlargement observed in germfree animals. The cecal mucosa is predominantly non‐villous in the conventional, but has a villous structure in the germfree mice. Alkaline phosphatase, in the conventional mice, is present in the striated border of a limited number of the epithelial cells lining the cecum; in the germfree mice almost all these epithelial cells show enzymatic activity. Acid phosphatase is more abundant in the epithelial cells and macrophages of the cecal mucosa of the conventional than of the germfree animals. Both groups show similar monoamine oxidase and reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide diaphorase activity. The reduction of the villi, and the decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity in the conventional mice point to an involution of the mucosa as an absorptive organ. Barka ('63) has suggested that acid phosphatase may have a defensive function; its increase in the conventional animal would support this interpretation. The two oxidative enzymes studied apparently are not influenced by the intestinal flor