Transplantologiya 2014

Histological assessment of intestinal damage

Strangulated ileum tissue specimens were collected from experimental animals for histological examination. The obtained specimens were fixed with Myrsky's Fixative (Merck, USA) and embedded in paraffin. Serial sections of 2 μm thick were prepared using a microtome (Thermo Electron Corporation, USA). Sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin according to Ehrlich (Hematoxylin-Eosin, Fluka, USA). Microscopic examinations of histological sections obtained from different experimental groups were performed using Leica DM 6000 microscope, photomicrographs were taken using Leica DFC 490 digital camera for microscopy.

For each slide, 12 fields of view per section were examined at 200x magnification, and the cumulative damage severity was graded according to the criteria described by Chiu et al. [15]. Sections were evaluated in a blinded manner by two independent pathologists.
Results

Histopathological examination

A histological examination of the ileum segment specimens from the animals of experimental group I demonstrated a structurally intact mucosa; an uneven pattern of mucosal surface typical for a well-developed crypt-villus architecture. A single-layer prismatic limbic epithelium of intestinal villi and crypts had several cell populations: columnar epithelial cells, goblet exocrine cells, exocrine cells with acidophilic granules (Paneth cells) in the crypts (Fig. 2). The mucosal damage in the ileum specimens from Group I was graded as "0 - normal intestinal mucosa" (as defined by Chiu et al. [15]).