Paneth cells: histochemical and morphometric study in control and Solanum glaucophyllum intoxicated rabbits

ZANUZZI CN, FONTANA PA, BARBEITO CG, PORTIANSKY EL, GIMENO EJ

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HISTOCHEMISTRY

SOC ITALIANA ISTOCHIMICA

Año: 2008 vol. 52 p. 93 - 100

1121-760X

The intestinal epithelium has a critical roll in host defence. One specialised cellular type involved in this function is the Paneth cell (PC). PCs secrete many substances with antimicrobial properties in response to different stimuli. During pathological conditions several changes in their number, morphology and location as well as in the number, morphology and composition of their granules have been reported.Solanum glaucophyllum (Sg), a calcinogenic plant containing high levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, is responsible for enzootic calcinosis in ruminants. This disease is characterised by lose of body condition and calcification of soft tissues. Several studies have demonstrated that the disease is experimentally reproducible in rabbits. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 participates in the maintenance of mineral homeostasis, immunomodulation and cell proliferation and differentiation. This study analyses the changes that rabbit PCs undergo in Sg intoxication. New Zealand male rabbits were experimentally intoxicated with Sg during 15 or 30 days. Lectin, immunohistochemistry and morphometrical studies were carried out on PCs of jejunum samples. PC granules bound to SBA, DBA and WGA lectins in normal and intoxicated rabbits, being the labelling more heterogeneous in the latter. Negative reaction for lysozyme was detectable in both control and intoxicated animals. A time and accumulative Sg dose depending increase in the size and number of PCs was found in both intoxicated groups. We suggest that the changes described in these cells could be directly or indirectly induced by Sg intoxication.