Mitotic rate and mitotic time in coeliac and non-coeliac duodenal biopsies maintained in organ culture.

Abstract

Duodenal biopsies from 9 coeliac and 7 non-coeliac control patients were maintained in organ culture. In one series of experiments Colcemid sufficient to arrest cells in metaphase was added to the culture medium at various time intervals. Colcemid exposure lasted between 1 and 11 h. Mitoses did not appear until after 8 h in culture, and from that time increasing numbers of mitoses were counted up to 13 h. In a second series biopsy specimens were cultured in parallel for 11 h with and without Colcemid, and in the presence or absence of a gluten fraction. The mitotic index after 11 h in culture was 17-28 per 1,000 crypt cells in mucosae from coeliac patients, compared with 4-6 in controls (P less than 0.01). The mitotic rate was between 15 and 58 mitoses per 1,000 crypt cells per h in mucosae from coeliac patients, which was significantly higher than in controls (mitotic rate 3-23). The mean calculated mitosis time was 1.06 h. Gluten had no detectable influence on these parameters, although histological deterioration occurred after in vitro gluten exposure. Wheat germ lectin inhibited mitotic activity.