Ultrastructural localization of acid phosphatase activity in the small intestinal absorptive cells of adult rats.

Ultrastructural localization of acid phosphatase activity was investigated in ultrathin (0.05 micron) and semithin (0.5 and 0.75 micron) sections of the small intestinal epithelial cells of adult rats. The results showed that the enzyme activity was localized on the membrane of microvilli, lateral cell membranes, lysosomes, the Golgi complex, and the GERL of Novikoff (a part of the smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum located in close proximity to the inner Golgi saccules) of duodenal absorptive cells. The lysosomes contained within the duodenal and jejunal absorptive cells appeared to be mainly heterolysosomes rather than autolysosomes. The enzyme activity of absorptive cells was lower in the jejunum than in the duodenum, and was barely detectable except in the GERL and lysosomes of the ileum. The average numbers of lysosomes having a diameter of 0.2 approximately 1.0 microns, per cell profile in sections of 214 duodenal, 226 jejunal and 318 ileal epithelial cells were 8.9 +/- 0.189, 6.4 +/- 0.155 and 3.5 +/- 0.027 (mean +/- SE), respectively. From these results, it was assumed that both the Golgi apparatus and GERL produce some lysosomes in the duodenal and jejunal absorptive cells, but only GERL does so in the ileum. It was considered also that because of an unexpectedly high number of lysosomes containes within the epithelial absorptive cells of the proximal intestine of adult rats, these cells may possess the strong heterophagic, as well as absorptive capacity.