Small intestinal morphology and epithelial cell kinetics in lamb rotavirus infections

Morphologic changes in the small intestine of rotavirus-infected gnotobiotic lambs were investigated by measurement of villi and crypts in histologic sections of jejunum, midgut, and posterior ileum. In midgut, villus atrophy developed within 12 hr of infection and was apparent until 72 hr after infection. Crypt hypertrophy was evident from 42 hr after infection until the end of the observation period (6 days after infection). Changes in posterior ileum were similar in extent, but jejunal changes were much less marked. The relatively mild effect in the jejunum is in accord with reports from other species, and provides a basis for questioning the assumption that human rotavirus affects mainly the foregut. Studies of epithelial cell kinetics were made on midgut using a microdissection and metaphase accumulation technique on sequential samples from anesthetized lambs. An increase in the cell production rate per crypt per hour from the overall control level of 5.8 was detected by 48 hr after infection. The maximum level of 21.2 was reached 8 days after infection, and this had returned to near normal by 15 days after infection. This large and sustained increase in crypt cell production probably underlies other previously described functional abnormalities.