The identification of intestinal M cells in the sacculus rotundus and appendix of the Angora rabbit

Abstract

The present study was aimed at the immunohistochemical demonstration of M cells, found in the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) of the sacculus rotundus (SR) and appendix of the Angora rabbit, using anti-vimentin primary antibodies, and at the determination of certain fine structural characteristics. Ten adult Angora rabbits constituted the material of the study. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that many cells composing the FAE, which covered the dome regions of the SR and appendix, reacted positively with vimentin. FAE contained two different types of vimentin-positive cells. The first type surrounded intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) with a basolateral invagination in the apex and periphery of the dome epithelium, whilst the second type consisted of columnar cells found in the FAE near crypts. The immunoreactivity of the cells found in the FAE covering the apex and periphery of the domes was observed particularly in the perinuclear cytoplasm and the cytoplasm surrounding the IEL. Electron microscopic examination demonstrated that the M cells found in the FAE covering the apex and periphery of the dome regions of the SR and appendix did not exhibit any microvilli on their apical surface. The FAE near crypts contained columnar cells, which resembled enterocytes. The apical membrane of these cells exhibited shorter and irregular microvilli, in contrast to neighbouring enterocytes. It was determined that M cells, found in the FAE of the SR and appendix in the Angora rabbit, displayed similarities in terms of localization and fine structure. This situation may be indicative of the two lymphoid structures with different localization having similar functional properties.