Physiological and histopathological changes in the intestines of mice challenged with S. typhi.

Transport of Na+, Cl-, Ca2+ and 3-0-methyl-D-glucose (a non-metabolizable analogue of D-glucose) was worked out in control, infected and immunized-infected animals along with histopathological studies of the intestines in these groups. There was significant decrease (p less than 0.01) in net absorption of Na+ and Cl- in the infected group as compared to that in the control group. There was also a significant decrease (p less than 0.01) in 3-0-methyl-D-glucose uptake in the infected group. However, no change was found in the immunized group in any of the electrolytes and non-metabolizable analogue of D-glucose. These findings correlated well with the histopathological studies as the infected intestines showed complete disorganization of mucosal tissues with loss of epithelial cells from the villi whereas the mucosal lining and epithelial cells from the intestines of immunized mice were normal looking.