The distribution of mucous secreting cells in the gastrointestinal tracts of three small rodents from Saudi Arabia : Acomys dimidiatus, Meriones rex and Meriones libycus

Abstract

The proportion of mucin phenotypes (which form the protective biofilm of the gastrointestinal tract)differs between intestinal regions. This study examines the distribution of mucin secreting cells in thegastrointestinal tracts of the Eastern spiny mouse (Acomys dimidiatus), King jird (Meriones rex) and Libyanjird (Meriones libycus), which inhabit the dry and hot deserts of Saudi Arabia. Intestinal tract samples wereprocessed to wax and tissue sections stained with Alcian Blue-Periodic Acid Schiff (AB-PAS) and High IronDiamine-Alcian Blue (HID-AB) in order to determine different mucin phenotypes by quantitative analysis.Mixed mucin secreting cells (combined neutral and acid) was the predominant mucin secreting cell typeobserved throughout the gastrointestinal tract in all species. Acid mucin secreting goblet cells weremainly located in the colon. A. dimidiatus presented with significantly more total sialo than sulfomucinsecreting cells while the opposite was true for both Meriones species. The distribution of mucin secretingcells is therefore similar to previously reported results for small mammals not living under arid conditions.