Ultrastructural aspects of the colonic epithelium in ulcerative colitis

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Article Title:	Ultrastructural aspects of the colonic epithelium in ulcerative colitis
Authors:	Ovidiu Frăţilă, Tiberia Iliaş, Teodor Traian Maghiar, Mircea Puşcaşiu, Dana Puşcaşiu
Affiliation:	1 Facultaty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea 2 Oradea Clinical County Hospital
Abstract:	Introduction: The colonic epithelium is a barrier between the luminal antigens and the immune cells from lamina propria. Previously, the colonic mucus layer has been shown to be thinner in ulcerative colitis (UC) than in normal subjects. Aim: To assess ultra structural changes of the rectal epithelium in patients with active/quiescent UC. Methods: Rectal biopsies were taken during endoscopy from patients with UC (n=8) and from healthy subjects (n=8). Pathological assessment of adjacent biopsies was made to determine if patients were normal or suffered from UC (active/quiescent). The specimens for ultra structural investigation were specifically processed and examined with a JEM-1010 transmission electron microscope (JEOL, Tokyo, Japan). Results: Compared with the normal mucosa, in the active UC we observed severe epithelial changes – rarefaction of the goblet cells, depletion/absence of microvillus, destruction of the tight junctions, vacuolisation and lyses of the cytoplasm, picnosis of the nucleus, alterations of endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, Golgi complexes – resulting in a drastic decrease of mucus formation. In the quiescent UC, the thickness of the epithelium and the goblet-cells were more reduced than in normal, modified microvillus, enlarged intercellular spaces and still alterations of the organdies were seen. Conclusions: The colonic epithelium is compromised in active UC and is only partially restored when UC is in remission. Ultrastructural alterations of the epithelium play an important role in the pathophysiology and relapse of the disease.
Keywords:	colonic epithelium, ulcerative colitis, electron microscopy, colonic inflammation
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*Correspondence:	Assoc. Prof. Ovidiu Frăţilă, University of Oradea, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, 3rd Medical Clinic, Pasteur Str. No. 2, 410149 Oradea, Romania, tel. +40-(259)-416661, email: ovidiuf@rdslink.ro