Morphological and functional changes in the colonic epithelial cells in a rabbit model of colitis

A rabbit model of TNBS-colitis was used to study the effect of intestinal i nflammation on epithelial cell function. Epithelial cells were isolated usi ng a non-enzymatic isolation method without any apparent contamination with infiltrating immune cells. The isolated cells were found to be viable usin g dye exclusion studies, unidirectional Na+-fluxes, proliferation assays an d morphological studies. The cells, however, showed morphological changes t hat suggested the presence of increased number of secretory vesicles. This increase correlated well with the increase observed in ion and water secret ion as measured by the short-circuit current. Finally, in the colitic tissu e the number of PGE(2) receptors was greatly reduced with no changes observ ed in the affinity of PGE(2) to its receptor. The reduced number of PGE(2) receptors might be due to sensitization of the receptor. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that morphologically and functionally normal epithelial c ells can be isolated from the rabbit inflamed distal colon.