The characteristics of mitotic figures in jejunal mucosa of patients with celiac disease.

The morphologic characteristics of the mitotic figures present in the jejunal mucosa of 23 pediatric patients having gluten enteropathy were recorded. Of the 851 mitoses found, 4.9% were in prophase, 39.9% in prometaphase, 29.5% in metaphase, 22.3% in anaphase, and 3.3% in telophase. Of the 851 mitoses found, 98.8% were considered to be morphologically normal and the remaining 1.2% were considered atypical. The occurrence of atypical mitoses in the jejunal mucosa of pediatric patients was unexpected. However, because jejunal adenocarcinomas in celiac patients are known to be rare, the plausible explanation for the present findings is that the occurrence of atypical mitoses may mirror morphologic variations from the normal mitotic pattern occurring in a rapidly proliferating mucosa, such as that of patients with gluten enteropathy.