J Vet Sci.  2004 Sep;5(3):183-188.

Changes of gastrointestinal argyrophil endocrine cells in the osteoporotic SD rats induced by ovariectomy

• Ku SK
• Lee HS
• Lee JH

Abstract

The regional distributions and frequencies of argyrophil endocrine cells in gastrointestinal (GI) tract of osteoporotic Sprague-Dawley rat induced by ovariectomy were studied using Grimelius silver stain. The experimental animals were divided into two groups, one is non-ovariectomized group (Sham) and the other is ovariectomized group (OVX). Samples were collected from each part of GI tract (fundus, pylorus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and rectum) at 10th week after ovariectomy or sham operation. In this study, argyrophil cells were detected throughout the entire GI tract with various frequencies regardless of ovariectomy. Most of these argyrophil cells in the mucosa of GI tract were generally spherical or spindle in shape (open type cell) while cells showing round in shape (close type cell) were found occasionally in gastric and/or intestinal gland regions. The regional distributions of GI argyrophil endocrine cells in OVX were similar to those of Sham. However, significant decreases of argyrophil cells were detected in OVX compared to those of Sham except for the pylorus, jejunum and cecum. In pylorus and jejunum, argyrophil cells in OVX dramatically decreased compared to those of Sham but significances were not recorded. In addition, argyrophil cells in cecum of OVX showed similar frequency compared to that of Sham. The endocrine cells are the anatomical units responsible for the production of gut hormones that regulate gut motility and digestion including absorption, and a change in their density would reflect the change in the capacity of producing these hormones and regulating gut motility and digestion. Ovariectomy induced severe quantitative changes of GI argyrophil endocrine cell density, and the abnormality in density of GI endocrine cells may contribute to the development of gastrointestinal symptoms in osteoporosis such as impairments of calcium and some lipids, frequently encountered in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Keyword

Ovariectomy; rat; argyrophil; endocrine; frequency

MeSH Terms

Animals
Disease Models, Animal
Enteroendocrine Cells/*pathology
Female
Gastrointestinal Tract/*pathology
Histocytochemistry/veterinary
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Intestinal Mucosa/pathology
Osteoporosis/*pathology
Ovariectomy
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Silver Nitrate/chemistry
Silver Staining/veterinary
Statistics, Nonparametric