Ultrastructural changes in the small intestine of zinc deficient rats.

In normal rats changes in the enterocytes that appear to be associated with physiological cell death were found. They were confined to the villous tip and included fragmentation of the microvilli and increased electron density of the cytoplasm with morphological alterations of the organelles. Acute severe zinc deficiency in young rats results in degenerative changes in the enterocytes and microvillous damage which is not confined to the villous tip. Increased numbers of apoptotic bodies as a result of cell death are found. The enterocyte lesions differed from cell death preceding normal desquamation. There were no significant changes in Paneth cell ultrastructure. These results were compared with the ultrastructural findings reported in patients with Acrodermatitis Enteropathica.