Lack of correlation between villus and crypt damage in irradiated mouse intestine

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Scanning electron microscopy was a more sensitive indicator of mucosal damage at low radiation dose levels than conventional quantitative crypt counting techniques. Different fractionation schedules [3] were investigated by both methods to try and elucidate some features of irradiation damage to the intestinal mucosa at dose levels commonly used in clinical practice. A marked difference occurred in 2 schedules between damage expressed as crypt counts and described by the qualitative techniques. In the 1st case, high crypt numbers were associated with severe mucosal damage; the 2nd schedule produced a reduced crypt count associated with low damage to the surface mucosa. A 3rd schedule had a general agreement between low crypt numbers and considerable surface mucosal damage. Observations made of mucosal formations not previously seen on damaged mucosal surfaces resembled the appearance normally associated with the gut of patients suffering from celiac disease. Variations in the qualitative observations in all the schedules made interpretation of perturbation of cellular kinetics difficult.

This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit: