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Dietary lipid absorption and lipoprotein secretion by the intestine of the crocodilian Caiman yacare (Daudin, 1802)

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Abstract

Although it is stated that dietary lipids are absorbed proximally in the small intestine of vertebrates, there are variations of the primary site for lipid absorption even when closely related species are considered. Moreover, there are evidences suggesting that the small intestine distal segments are equally capable of absorbing lipids, although it is not known whether it is the case for crocodilians. The lipoprotein assembling process and secretion routes are also largely unknown for crocodilians and therefore, assumed to be similar to mammals. The aims of this study were to identify the crocodilian Caiman yacare intestinal segments where lipid absorption occurs, to characterize the intestinal lipoproteins secreted by enterocytes and to evaluate lymphatic system contribution to exportation of lipoproteins from the intestine. For this, soybean oil was injected into C. yacare stomach and intestinal lipid absorption process was characterized by light and electron microscopy 24, 48 and 72 h after oil injection. The same amount of lipid inclusions was present in the duodenum, in the proximal jejunum and in the distal jejunum. The colon also showed a few lipid inclusions. The bulk of lipoproteins secreted by the enterocytes was <200 nm in diameter and was observed inside the lymphatic central lacteals. Lipid inclusions were absent from the intestinal mucosa and from the lacteals of the control animals. Finally, the high amount of lipids ingested did not recruit innate immune cells to the mucosa in any intestinal segment, suggesting that soybean oil is not pro-inflammatory for intestinal mucosa of C. yacare in the short time analyzed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Mato Grosso (FAPEMAT) contract Grant 715823/2008 and by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)/São Paulo Research Foundation contract Grant 2010/04527-5. RMB has received a scholarship from FAPESP, contract Grant 09/52884-4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Av Prof Lineu Prestes, 1524, sala 409, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    Ricardo Moraes Borges, Leandro Nogueira Pressinotti, João Carlos Shimada Borges, Renata Stecca Iunes & José Roberto Machado Cunha da Silva

  2. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Cáceres, MT, 78200-000, Brazil

    Leandro Nogueira Pressinotti & Alessandro Spíndola Bérgamo

  3. Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso (IFMT), Campus Cáceres, Cáceres, MT, 78200-000, Brazil

    Victor Manuel Aleixo

  4. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Centro Universitário das Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas (UniFMU), São Paulo, SP, 01508-010, Brazil

    João Carlos Shimada Borges

  5. Cooperativa de Criadores de Jacaré do Pantanal (COOCRIJAPAN), Cáceres, MT, 78200-000, Brazil

    Alessandro Spíndola Bérgamo

  6. Centro de Biologia Marinha (CeBiMar), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Sebastião, SP, 11600-000, Brazil

    José Roberto Machado Cunha da Silva

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  1. Ricardo Moraes Borges
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Correspondence to Ricardo Moraes Borges.

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Communicated by A. Schmidt-Rhaesa.

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Suppl Fig. 1

Intestinal mucosa histology of the control animals. Proximal jejunum (a), colon (b), detail of an intestinal villous (c), mucosal lamina propria and a lymphatic sinus near the submucosa (d) of the animal that received oral injection of mineral water. There were no osmiophilic particles in the lamina epithelialis, in the lamina propria or in the lymphatic system. Historesin sections stained with safranin and osmium tetroxide. Bar: a, b—50 µm; c, d—100 µm (TIFF 113592 kb)

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Borges, R.M., Pressinotti, L.N., Aleixo, V.M. et al. Dietary lipid absorption and lipoprotein secretion by the intestine of the crocodilian Caiman yacare (Daudin, 1802). Zoomorphology 135, 217–231 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-015-0300-9

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