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Expression of Apoptotic Epithelial Cells in Biopsy Specimens of Patients with Colitis

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Abstract

We postulated that nuclear dust within the lamina propria beneath the basement membrane of the epithelium in colonic mucosal biopsies of patients with colitis is a form of apoptotic epithelial cells and that its expression correlates with clinical severity. Our aim was to determine the origin of nuclear dust and to explore the correlation between nuclear dust expression and clinicopathologic parameters of colitis. we examined 228 specimens with colitis and 18 normal specimens. The expression rates of nuclear dust were 11.1% (2/18) and 83.8% (191/228) in normal colonic mucosa and colitis, respectively. Cells showing double positive staining with cytokeratin and TdT-mediated uUTP-biotin nick-end labeling technique were apoptotic cells derived from epithelial cells. Nuclear dust expression correlated significantly with inflammation, eosinophil infiltration, edema, and congestion. Our results suggest that interventions directed toward the apoptotic process may be benifical in the treatment of colitis.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Science, Education, Sports and Culture of Japan (No. 14570193).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Pathology and Tissue and Histopathology Section, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan

    Kazuko Shichijo, Takeshi Shin, Toshiyuki Nakayama, Masahiro Nakashima, Alipov Gabit Kaimovich, Mutsumi Matsuyama & Ichiro Sekine

  2. Department of Digestive Disease, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu Province, China

    Chun-Yang Wen

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  1. Kazuko Shichijo
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  2. Takeshi Shin
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  3. Chun-Yang Wen
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  4. Toshiyuki Nakayama
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  5. Masahiro Nakashima
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  6. Alipov Gabit Kaimovich
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  7. Mutsumi Matsuyama
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  8. Ichiro Sekine
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Correspondence to Kazuko Shichijo.

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Shichijo, K., Shin, T., Wen, CY. et al. Expression of Apoptotic Epithelial Cells in Biopsy Specimens of Patients with Colitis. Dig Dis Sci 52, 2037–2043 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-006-9263-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-006-9263-5

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