Effects of Biliary Diversion to the Ileum on the In Situ Disaccharidase Activities of Duodenal and Heal Mucosa in the Rat

In order to study the influence of biliary secretions on the in situ kinetic data of brush border disaccharidases in relation to small intestinal villus-crypt architecture, an anastomosis was constructed between the common bile duct, which had been divided before its entrance into the pancreatic head, and the ileum in adult female Wistar rats. Simple attachment of the terminal ileum to the liver hilum was performed in the controls. Six weeks after the operation, tissue sections were prepared from duodenum and ileum of biliary-diverted and control animals (n = 5 in each group) and examined by section biochemistry and morphometry. In both groups the apparent Vmax values of neutral alpha-glucosidase and lactase/beta-glucosidase, measured at the villus base and at its apex, and the villus height were decreased from the duodenum towards the distal ileum. After biliary diversion to the ileum, an increase in villus height ensued in this segment, and the increasing gradient of glucosidase activity towards the villus apex, as seen in the ileum of the controls, was no longer detectable. In the duodenum, however, villus height remained unaltered and the in situ activity of the disaccharidases was increased at both villus sites when compared with the controls. The results indicate different effects of bile on mucosal morphology and function in the proximal and distal small intestine.