Figure 1: Cell organization defects occur in the intestinal epithelium of CTE patients.
From: Contractile forces at tricellular contacts modulate epithelial organization and monolayer integrity
(a,b) Histological analysis of hematoxylin–eosin stained paraffin sections of duodenal biopsies from control (a) and CTE patients (b). Scale bars, 10 μm. For each condition, a corresponding scheme of the epithelial organization is presented. CTE intestinal epithelium displays tufts (black arrowheads). (c,d) Confocal microscopy analysis of EpCAM distribution in duodenal control biopsy (c) or in Caco2 cells (d). Intestinal epithelium baseline is demarcated by dotted white line (c). Scale bars, upper panel 50 μm (c), lower panel 10 μm (c) and 10 μm (d). (e), Confocal microscopy analyses of Na+/K+-ATPase, E-cadherin, claudin-7 and ZO-1 distribution in control or CTE biopsies. N(Control)=6 biopsies, N(CTE)=6 biopsies. Scale bars, 10 μm. (f) Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) ultrastructural analysis of enterocyte apical membranes in control (a) and CTE (b,c) biopsies, showing actin rootlets (black arrowheads). Scale bars, 5 μm. N(Control)=3 biopsies, N(CTE)=3 biopsies. (g) Statistical analysis of microvillus density in control and CTE enterocytes. t test, *P<0.0004. (h) Statistical analysis of microvillus length in control and CTE enterocytes. Control(MV length)=1.35±0.007 μm, CTE(MV length)=1.001±0.009 μm. t-test, *P-value<0.0001. N(Control)=3 biopsies, n(Control)=352 microvilli, N(CTE)=3 biopsies, n(CTE)=400 microvilli. (i) Statistical analysis of the actin rootlet length in control and CTE enterocytes. Control(length)=0.416±0.006 μm, CTE(length)=0.596±0.01 μm. N(Control)=3 biopsies, n(Control)=309 actin rootlets, N(CTE)=3 biopsies, n(CTE)=394 actin rootlets. t-test, *P<0.0001. Values are mean±s.e.m. (j) Confocal microscopy analyses of villin, ezrin and cytokeratins distribution in control or CTE biopsy sections. N(Control)=12 biopsies, N(CTE)=6 biopsies. Scale bars, 10 μm. Nuclei were detected by Hoechst 33342 staining (blue).
