PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN (PCNA) IN PATIENTS WITH MALABSORPTION - COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS

The study of small bowel mucosa is routine in the study of patients wi th malabsorption. We report 16 children aged from 8 months to 6 years old (2 with giardiasis, 8 with primary malnutrition and 5 with celiac disease) in whom a morphometric and PCNA immunostaining was performed in the small intestinal biopsy. Positivity for PCNA was found in the l ower portion of the crypts reaching 156 mum of heigh in patients with giardiasis, 103 mum in primary malnutrition and 182 mum in celiac dise ase (p < 0.01 compared to primary malnutrition). A negative and signif icant correlation was found between the degree of architectural disord er (expressed the mucosal index) and the proliferative portion of the crypts (expressed as the percentage of PCNA(+) crypts. We propose thes e methods as complements to the small bowel mucosa histopathological s tudy in the diagnosis of celiac disease, to assess the degree of archi tectural disorder and the proliferative activity.