Changes in the size and structure of the nucleolus of columnar cells during their migration from crypt base to villus top in rat jejunum.

An image analyser was used to measure the area of the nucleolus and its component parts in columnar cells at six levels of the jejunal epithelium, corresponding to stages in cell migration from crypt base to villus top. In columnar cells of crypt base, which function as stem cells for the epithelium, the nucleolus is large (3.1 micron2), irregular and reticulated. As cells migrate up the crypt, divide and differentiate, the nucleolus decreases in size (1.7 micron2) and becomes spherical, but remains reticulated. In the fully differentiated cells of the midvillus, however, the nucleolus becomes small (0.9 micron2) and compact. At the villus top, as the cells display early signs of degeneration, the nucleolus is further compacted (0.5 micron2). Most nucleolar components also decrease in size. Pars fibrosa (about 19% of the nucleolar area in crypt base) and pars granulosa (about 70%) decrease in proportion to the rest of the nucleolus, except in mid-villus and villus top where loss of pars granulosa predominates. In contrast, the total area of fibrillar centres remains constant (about 0.1 micron2), even though individual centres are small and numerous in crypt base, larger and fewer at higher levels, and they coalesce into a single structure in villus top. The other nucleolar components are also segregated into distinct, but adjacent, areas at this level. The changes in size and structure of the nucleolus taking place during the migration of columnar cells can be correlated with the maturation of the cells and the loss of their ability to synthesize ribosomal RNA.