Differences in epithelial morphology correlate to Na(+)-transport: a study of the proximal, mid, and distal regions of the coprodeum from hens on high and low NaCl diet.

A study was performed to correlate regional morphology and amiloride inhibitable Na(+)-transport in the coprodeal epithelium in hens, Gallus domesticus, on low-NaCl diet and in controls. Proximal (close to colon), mid and distal (close to urodeum) regions were examined using light microscopy, transmission- and scanning electron microscopy. Na(+)-transport was measured electrophysiologically in Ussing-chambers in the proximal and distal regions. The epithelium, simple and columnar, is composed of absorptive intestinal epithelial cells, goblet cells, brush cells, migrating lymphoid cells, and enteroendocrine cells. Brush cells, identified in avians for the first time, occur in highest number in the proximal part of the coprodeum in low-NaCl hens. Na(+)-transport is high in the low-NaCl hens, ranging from 347 microA/cm2 (proximal) to 187 microA/cm2 (distal). In control hens, which correspond to hens on high-NaCl diet, it is low in all regions (0-4 microA/cm2). Absorptive intestinal epithelial cells as well as brush cells adapt to variations in transepithelial Na(+)-transport by regulating height and packing density of their microvilli, number, size, and localization of apical vesicles, and the width of the intercellular space. Regional differences in the epithelial cell composition and ultrastructure are closely correlated to transepithelial Na(+)-transport but only in low-NaCl hens, as controls do not show these variations.