Abstract
We have studied the connective tissue changes in the bowel wall of patients with Crohn's disease. Surgically resected specimens from normal margins and inflammed areas were compared. The various collagen types were identified by specific purification schemes followed by slab gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and by specific staining with antibodies directed against collagen types IV & V. Results. Histological sections from inflammed areas demonstrated expansion of the muscularis propria and the muscularis mucosa, and vascular proliferation in the submucosa. Collagen had accumulated in the latter two areas. Collagen isolated from inflammed bowel and separated by electrophoresis contained in addition to the type I found in normal margins, bands that comigrated with a type V standard. The presence of type V was confirmed by immunoblotting. Immunohisto-chemistry of sections from inflammed areas revealed marked accumulation of types IV and V in the submucosa. Conclusion. In Crohn's disease, chronic inflammation of the intestine leads to the accumulation of abnormal amounts of collagen types IV & V. As these collagen types are synthesized by smooth muscle cells, we postulate that these cells may play a role in the stricture formation characteristic of Crohn's disease. (Supported by a grant from the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis.)
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Graham, M., Eisen, C., Diegelmann, R. et al. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE COLLAGEN TYPES IN NORMAL AND INFLAMMED HUMAN INTESTINE. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 197 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00622
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00622