Effect of L-lactic acid, short-chain fatty acids, and pH in cecal infusate on morphometric and cell kinetic parameters of rat cecum.

We studied the influences of cecal infusion of NaCl, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and L-lactic acid at pH 5.0 or 7.0 for seven days on morphometric and cell kinetic parameters of the rat cecum. SCFA increased relative weight of the mucosa and submucosa, crypt size, and mitotic index in the cecum. L-Lactic acid stimulated mitosis only at pH 5.0. Crypt size correlated positively to epithelial proliferative activity only when NaCl or L-lactic acid was infused. SCFA should have changed the balance between production and loss of the cecal epithelial cells. The infusate pH by itself had no effect, but modified the effects of SCFA and L-lactic acid in different ways. Crypt size correlated positively to the logarithm of daily proton load of infusates. The above results indicate that epithelial cell proliferation in the cecum is influenced by both SCFA and L-lactic acid, although differently, and by proton load.