Influence of triamcinolone and somatostatin on morphometric parameters of cultured intestinal mucosa

Mucosal biopsies from rabbit ileum were organ cultured for 24 h. The influence of triamcinolone and somatostatin on villus height and diameter as well as crypt depth and the number of mitoses was measured at various times during 24 h of culture as indices of cell proliferation and tissue maintenance. It could be shown that triamcinolone reduced cell proliferation slightly but preserved mucosal structure in organ culture. Somatostatin inhibited crypt cell proliferation, without any effect on other morphological parameters.