Dietary factors affecting the proliferation of epithelial cells in the mouse colon

Abstract

Corn oil (CO), given as a bolus to female C57BL/6J mice, caused a marked increase in cell proliferation in the colon; this was assessed with a two-hour colchicine arrest for mitotic figures (MF) and with [3H]thymidine incorporation for labeled cells (LC) per crypt measured in histological preparations. In contrast, the same amount of fat given as a bolus in a high-fat diet mixture failed to increase cell proliferation. To determine whether a particular component in the diet was responsible for this protective effect, mice were treated with boluses of CO (0.4 ml) mixed with cellulose (CL), starch (ST), sucrose (SU), casein (CS), vitamin mix (VM) or mineral mix (MM). The results indicated that cellulose, starch, and minerals reduced the proliferative activity caused by CO (MF/crypt CO = 1.30 +/- 0.24; CO + CL = 0.55 +/- 0.10, CO + ST = 0.91 +/- 0.23, CO + MM = 0.63 +/- 0.16), whereas sucrose, casein, and vitamin mix did not. To test the implications of these findings in chronic feeding studies, groups of animals were fed (for 4 wks) diets "deficient" in starch and cellulose, calcium, and both the complex carbohydrates and calcium. The results showed that both calcium and complex carbohydrates affected the proliferation rate significantly (for instance, MF/crypt = 1.44 +/- 0.22 for both factors deficient vs. 0.48 +/- 0.05 for both factors present). We concluded that starch, cellulose, and calcium are protective for the toxic effect of CO on the mouse colon.

Effect of high‐fat and low‐fiber meals on the cell proliferation activity of colorectal mucosa

“…Dietary fat can lead to an increase in the proliferation of colonie epithelial cells in experimental animals and humans (1)(2)(3). In mice, a bolus of fat leads to a loss of mature colonie epithelial cells and a prompt compensatory increase in the rate of cell proliferation (I).…”

Mitotic activity in colorectal mucosa of healthy subjects in two Italian areas with different dietary habits

“…In our previous studies in rodents we found that high-fat diets rich in starch lowered DNA synthesis and mitotic activity in the colon compared with diets in which carbohydrates were supplied by sucrose (8,16,17). Dietary fibers have been reported either to increase or decrease colonie 266…”

“…Although some experimental and epidemiological studies suggest that variations from the usual diet may need days or even weeks to affect colon proliferation (22), other studies in mice have shown that some dietary variations affect the proliferative activity in the colonie mucosa very rapidly (in hours) (17).…”

“…This phenomenon might be due to the fact that, in the subjects under study, the differences in the intake of nutrients were rather small. However, drastically different nutrient levels have been used in experimental studies to show effects of dietary components on colon proliferation (8,9,(15)(16)(17)(18) or in chemoprevention trials with vitamins or calcium, using cell proliferation to assess the risk of colon cancer in humans (20,21).…”

“…Dietary nutrients have been reported to affect the proliferative activity of the colorectal mucosa in several experimental and epidemiological studies (8,9,(15)(16)(17)(18). In our previous studies in rodents we found that high-fat diets rich in starch lowered DNA synthesis and mitotic activity in the colon compared with diets in which carbohydrates were supplied by sucrose (8,16,17).…”