Carbonic anhydrase in the monkey stomach and intestine.

The distribution of carbonic anhydrase in the stomach and intestine of the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) was studied by the histochemical method of Hansson. In the gastric surface epithelium high enzyme activity was found in the cytoplasm and at the lateral cell borders. The parietal cells in the gastric glands also showed high enzyme activity, while the chief cells were less active. The mucous cells in the pyloric glands and in the Brunner's glands demonstrated a staining pattern similar to that of gastric surface cells. The mucosa of the duodenum and the jejunum was less intensely stained than the gastric mucosa. The enzyme activity was located at the lateral cell borders of the enterocytes, with weak or no cytoplasmic activity. Goblet cells and Paneth cells were unstained. In the ileum a small number of epithelial cells displayed high enzyme activity; their identity is not clear at present. In the cecum and colon large amounts of cytoplasmic carbonic anhydrase were found in the surface epithelium and in the upper part of the glands. Capillaries showing clear enzyme staining were found in the mucosa of all tissues; they were often located close to the surface epithelium and the glands. In the stomach, cecum and colon the distribution of the enzyme in the monkey appears very similar to that reported for other mammalian species, but in the small intestine clear differences exist. The functional role of carbonic anhydrase at the various sites in the gastrointestinal tract is only partly understood.