[Effect of cholera toxin on the ultrastructure of a primary culture of human fetal intestinal epithelium].

Ultrastructure of the primary culture of epitheliocytes in the small and large intestine of 20-22-week-old human fetuses has been investigated, normal and 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h after administration of cholera toxin (choleragen) into the cell culture. The culture studied is mainly presented by absorbtive epitheliocytes, goblet, endocrinic and Paneth's cells, that preserve to a certain degree their differented structure. The most pronounced ultrastructural changes of the intestinal epitheliocytes in the primary cell culture, resembling those, that are previously noted in the epitheliocytes of the small and large intestine under influence of cholera toxin in various experimental animals in vivo, are revealed 3-6 h after administration of cholera toxin into the primary culture of the small intestine epitheliocytes and 6-12 h--into the large intestine epitheliocytes. The intestinal epitheliocytes of the human fetuses in the cell culture are sensitive to the action of cholera toxin and present a suitable model for studying the action mechanism of the toxin on the intestinal epithelium.