Rectal mucosa in cystic fibrosis. Morphological features before and after short term organ culture.

Histological changes observed in the large intestinal mucosa of cystic fibrosis (CF) 
patients, including crypt enlargement as well as intracellular and extracellular accumulation 
of mucus, have been considered by some to be useful diagnostic 
signs of this disease. The extent of these changes, however, has 
not been evaluated quantitatively. In this study, quantitative stereological methods were 
applied to biopsies of rectal mucosa from 5 CF patients, 5 
sibling controls, and 2 normal adults, to measure goblet cell numbers, 
crypt luminal volume, and volume of intracellular mucus. It was found 
that CF crypt lumina were variably dilated, but that the average 
relative volume of intracellular mucus and the numbers of goblet cells 
in CF mucosae were comparable to those of sibling and adult 
controls. In CF biopsies, however, surface columnar absorptive cells consistently contained 
putative lipid droplets and rapidly accumulated additional large lipid droplets during 
short term organ culture. Lipid droplets were not observed in the 
same cell types of control biopsies before or after short term 
organ culture. 