[Effect of hypervitaminosis A on the rat small intestine epithelium]

The excess of vitamin A, orally administered to young albino male rats (during 8 days, per os, in total dose of 400000 ME per rat) induced a considerable decrease in the number of mitoses in the small intestine crypt glands of both its distal and proximal parts. This treatment also led to changes in the intestine mucosa morphology (decrease of the crypt depth and number of epithelial cells, lining crypts) and to the loss of the RNA content gradient along the villus. It is concluded, that in rats the small intestine mucosa is an organ-target for vitamin A, and its excess induce the inhibition of enterocyte proliferation and impairment of their differentiation.