Development of the Intestinal Villi Associated with the Increased Epithelial Cell Mitosis in Chickens

Abstract

To clarify whether or not an increase of the intestinal villi in size is induced by the increase of the cell proliferation, post-hatching developmental changes of the villous size and the cell mitotic numbers in the crypt were observed in the 1-, 10-and 20-day-old broiler chickens. Newly-hatched chicks were bred in the following nutritional conditions; conventional, high protein-low energy (HL) or low protein-high energy (LH) dietary groups. Besides, in the fasted group for 5 days after hatching morphological alterations of the villi were observed. The intestine of HL group increasing food intake and growing fast had well-developed large villi with marked extrusions of cells at the apex and showed much mitotic division of epithelial cells in the crypt even at 10-day-old. The LH group decreasing food intake and growing slow had small villi and showed few cell mitoses. Denuded apical surfaces were also frequently observed at 20-day-old. In fasted group, shrunk villi and denuded apical surfaces were found. The present findings indicate that the increase of villous size might be induced by the active cell proliferation in the intestinal crypts as well as by the decreased cell loss from the villous tips.

Effects of non-antibiotic feed additives on performance, immunity and intestinal morphology of broilers fed different levels of protein

“…Therefore, it can be concluded that dietary protein level has the potential in changing intestinal morphology. Previously, Yamauchi et al (1993) found that gut morphology will be influenced by dietary level of nutrients.…”

Morphological Alterations of the Intestinal Villi and Absorptive Epithelial Cells in each Intestinal part in Fasted Chickens.

“…The size of villi was demonstrated to be related to the absorptive function ISSHIKI, 1991, YAMAUCHI et al, 1993) and to be varied with cell mitotic activity of epithelial cells (YAMAUCHI et al, 1993). Villous height also reported to have significant correlation with the intestinal absorptive function in rats (DOWLING and BOOTH, 1967) and to be dependent on the number of epithelial cells in chicks (NODA, 1979).…”

“…Besides, the shrinkage of cells and the atrophy of the cell organella were observed. Although, in the case of the increasing of the villous size (YAMAUCHI et al, 1993) and height (NoDA, 1979) an increased cell mitosis has been interpreted as the main factor for their increases, the shrinkage of individual cell is also thought to be an important factor for the shortening of the villous height. PEER et al (1984) investigated that skip-a-day feed restriction from 3-to 18-week-old gave no changes to the jejunal mucosal appearance but caused the extensive damage to the duodenum of broilers.…”

Histological alterations of intestinal villi in growing pigs fed soybean and pigeon pea seed meals

“…Generally, intestinal epithelial cells originating from mitosis in the stem-cell zone, which is located in the lower portion of the intestinal crypt, migrate along the villus surface upward to the villus tip within a few days, and then they are extruded into the intestinal lumen within 48 h from birth (Imondi and Bird 1996;Potten 1998). Villus development was induced by an increase in cell proliferation (Yamauchi et al 1993). Such a characteristic cell turnover suggests that these parameters, which can be monitored using light microscopy, would be altered by intestinal function, and that the surface of the tips of the villi, is a suitable location for judging the villus function.…”

“…It appears from these studies that the lower values for light microscopy parameters, and the fact that flat cells in the PM group were much less developed than those in the SM group, indicate a lower intestinal functional activity in the PM group than in the SM group. Because feeding high protein-low energy diets induces hypertrophied light microscopic parameters in broiler chicks (Yamauchi et al 1993), the lower intestinal functional activity in PM-fed pigs might be induced by the lower content of crude protein (PM,232.5;SM, ) and other essential nutrients in PM than in SM (Oshodi et al 1993;Mekbungwan et al 1999). Besides, the atrophic intestinal function in PM-fed pigs might be induced by antinutritional factors such as trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors in raw PM (Godbole et al 1994;Rani et al 1996).…”