Ultrastructural Changes in the Intestine of Suckling Rabbits Infected with Cholerogenic and Non-Cholerogenic nonO1/nonO139 Vibrio cholerae Strains.

We performed an electron microscopic study of the small intestine of suckling rabbits infected with cholerogenic and non-cholerogenic strains nonO1/nonO139 Vibrio cholerae. Cholerogenic strain induced mostly hydropic degeneration of the epithelium typical of cholera toxin effect, while non-cholerogenic strain induced the formation of lacunae along the borders of adjacent epithelial cells typical of hemagglutinin/protease effect. In both cases, reduction of microvilli, destruction of intracellular organelles, two types of mitochondrial reaction (condensation and swelling with destruction of cristae), appearance of myelin figures, defects in the capillary walls, and activation of pinocytosis were observed. These data confirm our previous assumption on interchangeability of different pathogenic factors of Vibrio cholerae, including nonO1/nonO139 strains.