<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Paneth cells, located at the base of the crypts of intestinal villi, have long been an object of study in celiac disease research, especially during the late 1960's into the 1980's. However, a review of PubMed abstracts turns up a conflicting body of research that has the number and size and granules of Paneth cells both increasing and decreasing in CD patients. A new study (hopefully accurate this time) shows Paneth cell granule depletion occuring in intestinal disorders. Recent research has been demonstrating more and more the importance, function and role of Paneth cells in maintaining intestinal health and in destroying harmful microbes. One thing for sure, CD has an effect on Paneth cells. Here are a few articles of interest on Paneth cells. (You will need to paste the web addresses together on one line.) ---------- Paneth cells: http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/paneth.ht ml Photographic image of Paneth cells (in red): http://home.primus.com.au/royellis/smint.jpg Tales from the crypts: Cells battle germs http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1200/9_158/65368554/p1/article.jhtml Gut Bacteria Interact with Intestine to Regulate Blood Supply (Nov. 4, 2002) http://mednews.wustl.edu/medadmin/PAnews.nsf/0/B14C4FCB1C4037CA86256C67007DF 1A2 http://mednews.wustl.edu/medadmin/PAnews.nsf/Archives?OpenForm&yr=2002 Search and Destroy: Newly Identified Gut Protein Kills Bacteria (Jan. 26, 2003) http://mednews.wustl.edu/medadmin/PAnews.nsf/0/7BF498C3BA91B68586256CB8007C7 B81 http://mednews.wustl.edu/medadmin/PAnews.nsf/Archives?OpenForm&yr=2003 ---------- Clin Exp Immunol. 2004 Feb; 135(2): 303-309 Paneth cell granule depletion in the human small intestine under infective and nutritional stress. Kelly P, Feakins R, Domizio P, Murphy J, Bevins C, Wilson J, McPhail G, Poulsom R, Dhaliwal W. Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Bart's and The London School of Medicine, London, Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton, Southampton, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA, and Cancer Research UK, London Research Institute, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, UK. Paneth cells are important contributors to the intestinal antimicrobial barrier through synthesis and release of antimicrobial peptides and proteins. Animal studies indicate that Paneth cell numbers, location and granule morphology are altered by infection and zinc status. We examined human tissue to determine whether Paneth cell numbers, distribution or granule morphology are altered in infective, inflammatory and nutritional disorders. Archival sections from infective disorders (giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, HIV, helminth infection) were compared with active inflammatory conditions (coeliac, Crohn's and graft-versus-host diseases) and histologically normal tissues. A subset of tissues was studied by electron microscopy and TUNEL staining for apoptosis. Human defensin-5 (HD5) peptide and mRNA was analysed by immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Sections from a tropical population cohort study were then analysed to determine the relationship of granule depletion to infection, nutritional status and plasma zinc concentration. In HIV-related cryptosporidiosis, but not other disorders, Paneth cells were reduced in number and markedly depleted of granules. Paneth cell granule depletion was associated with reduced HD5 immunoreactivity, but this was not due to apoptosis and there was no reduction in mRNA transcripts. In the tropical population studied, depletion of granules was associated with reduced body mass index, reduced plasma zinc levels and HIV infection. Paneth cell granules in human small intestine may be depleted in response to infective and nutritional stress. We postulate that this is one mechanism through which zinc status influences host susceptibility to intestinal infection. PMID: 14738460 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] * * * *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*