DIFFERENTIAL CELL-KINETICS IN THE ILEUM AND COLON OF GERM-FREE RATS

Our aim was to study the cell kinetics and epithelial structure in the ileum and colon of conventional and germfree AGUS rats by means of a classic stathmokinetic technique. A slight hyperplasia was observed in the villi of germfree animals (p < 0.05), associated with a comparati vely short cell cycle time. The crypt cell production rate was reduced in the colon of germfree rats (p < 0.05), and their crypts contained fewer cells than those of conventional animals (p < 0.05). It is concl uded that intraluminal bacteria influence cell proliferation in the co lon. The absence of microflora prolongs the cell cycle time and reduce s the proliferative activity in the colonic crypts, which contributes to a steady state that is different from that of conventional animals.