Morphology of the prairie dog gallbladder: normal characteristics and changes during early lithogenesis

Studies were undertaken to describe the normal structure of the prairie dog gallbladder and adjacent cystic duct, and then to determine sequential changes that occurred as abnormalities in bile composition developed during high cholesterol feeding. Control animals were fed a diet with trace cholesterol, while experimental animals were fed a diet enriched with 1.2% cholesterol for 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks. Light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize morphologic changes at each time interval. Biliary lipid composition was altered in all experimental groups, evidenced by significant decreases in bile-acid-to-cholesterol ratios. Cholesterol crystals appeared in experimental bile at 1 and 2 weeks, while stones formed at 3 and 4 weeks. The cystic duct and neck of the gallbladder occasionally displayed goblet cells. Little mucus was demonstrable in principal cells of the gallbladder, but much more in those lining the cystic duct. After 2 weeks of lithogenic diet, there was an increase in mucus content and secretion from all areas, as well as an influx of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leukocytes. Accumulation of plasma cells in the lamina propria was an especially prominent feature of experimental tissues. These results suggest that 1) there is regional heterogeneity in the mucus content of the gallbladder and cystic duct of the prairie dog, and 2) both regions respond to lithogenesis with mucus hypersecretion and acute and chronic inflammatory changes prior to the appearance of cholesterol gallstones.