University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences. New Cavendish Street, UK; Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Exp Mol Pathol. 2024 Oct;139:104923. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2024.104923. Epub 2024 Aug 17.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Older people experience a greater incidence of lower bowel disorders, including constipation. Causes can include factors associated with growing older, such as use of medications or disease, but compounded by degenerative changes within the bowel wall. It has been suggested that the latter is exacerbated by loss of an effective mucosal barrier to luminal contents. In human colon, little is known about the impact of ageing on key components of this barrier, namely the goblet cells and mucin content.
Changes in the number of goblet cells and density of mucin content were investigated in macroscopically normal human ascending (AC; n = 13) and descending (DC; n = 14) colon from elderly (≥ 67 years) and younger adults (60 years and below). Samples were serially sectioned and stained for haematoxylin and eosin to assess tissue morphology, and alcian blue periodic acid Schiff (ABPAS) and MUC-2 antibody to identify goblet cells producing mucins. New procedures in visualization and identification of goblet cells and mucin contents were employed to ensure unbiased counting and densitometric analysis.
Compared with the younger adults, the numbers of goblet cells per crypt were significantly lower in the elderly AC (72 ± 1.2 vs 51 ± 0.5) and DC (75 ± 2.6 vs. 54 ± 1.9), although this reduction did not reach statistical significance when assessed per mucosal area (AC: P = 0.068; DC: P = 0.096). In both regions from the elderly, numerous empty vesicles (normally containing mucins) were observed, and some areas of epithelium were devoid of goblet cells. Thus, the density of mucin content per unit mucosal area were significantly reduced with age.
Ageing could result in a reduced number of goblet cells and development of degenerative changes in mucin production. Together, these have implications for the mucus barrier function in the colon of elderly individuals.
老年人更容易出现下消化道疾病，包括便秘。原因可能包括与年龄增长相关的因素，如使用药物或患病，但也可能因肠壁的退行性变化而加重。有人认为，后者因肠腔内容物对有效黏膜屏障的丧失而加剧。在人类结肠中，人们对构成这一屏障的关键成分（即杯状细胞和粘蛋白含量）随年龄变化的影响知之甚少。
我们研究了老年人（≥67 岁）和年轻人（60 岁及以下）的升结肠（AC；n=13）和降结肠（DC；n=14）中，杯状细胞数量和粘蛋白含量的变化。对组织形态学进行了连续切片和苏木精-伊红染色，并对产生粘蛋白的杯状细胞进行了过碘酸-希夫（ABPAS）和 MUC-2 抗体染色。采用新的可视化和鉴定杯状细胞和粘蛋白含量的方法，以确保进行无偏计数和密度测定分析。
与年轻人相比，老年人 AC（72±1.2 比 51±0.5）和 DC（75±2.6 比 54±1.9）的隐窝内杯状细胞数量明显减少，但按黏膜面积评估时，这种减少并未达到统计学意义（AC：P=0.068；DC：P=0.096）。在老年人的两个区域中，都观察到大量空泡（正常情况下含有粘蛋白），并且一些上皮区域没有杯状细胞。因此，粘蛋白含量的密度随年龄显著降低。
衰老可能导致杯状细胞数量减少和粘蛋白产生的退行性变化。这些变化共同影响老年人结肠的黏液屏障功能。
