Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Quantification of Colonic Stem Cell Mutations
Published on: September 25, 2015
Optimization of visibility and quantification of aberrant crypt foci in colonic mucosa in Wistar rats
Idália Maria Brasil Burlamaqui1, Conceição Aparecida Dornelas, Rodrigo Dornenfeld Escalante
1Postgraduate Program in Surgery, UFC, Ceará, Brazil. idaliaburlamaqui87@hotmail.com
Purpose:
Test immersion of microscopy samples in water as an aid to visualizing and quantifying aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in rat colon mucosa.
Methods:
Carcinogenesis was induced with azoxymethane in Wistar rats kept on a conventional diet or a hypercaloric diet containing unsaturated fat. Fifteen weeks after induction, colon samples were retrieved and fixated in a 10% formaldehyde solution. The samples were divided into segments (distal, middle, proximal) and stained with 1% toluidine blue. The technique tested in the study consisted of immersing microscopy samples in distilled water in order to eliminate the problem of light reflection known from conventional microscopy.
Results:
When samples were immersed in water during microscopy, significantly more ACF could be visualized in all colon segments than with the conventional method proposed by Bird.
Conclusion:
Immersing microscopy samples in water aids the visualization and quantification of aberrant crypt foci in rat colon mucosa fixed in formaldehyde.
