In vitro response of enzyme-dispersed rat intestinal villus and crypt cells to hormones

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Abstract
Villus and crypt cells isolated from rat jejunal tissue by an improved enzymatic procedure were tested for their ability to respond to hormonal stimulation using several metabolic tracers. Incubation with cyclic AMP, theophylline, isoproterenol, and epinephrine resulted in 20–70% increases in incorporation of D-glucosamine into glycoproteins. The newly formed material was largely (90–95%) recovered from the medium, apparently as a result of active secretion, because tests for cellular leakage and breakage failed to account for it. The above hormones and pharmacological agents as well as glucagon, insulin, and Cortisol, however, failed to modify the rate of incorporation of acetate and glucose into the total cellular lipids of the isolated crypt and villus cells. Likewise, segments of intestinal tissue, although readily responding with increased incorporation of D-glucosamine (50–100%), failed to demonstrate any effect of added hormones on the incorporation of acetate even when lipogenesis was stimulated by addition of glucose or fructose. These findings are in agreement with certain previous studies with intact intestinal tissue in vivo and in vitro, and attest to the suitability of the enzyme-dispersed cells for metabolic studies.