Dynamics of basal lamina fenestrations in the rat intestinal villous epithelium in response to dietary conditions

The epithelial basal lamina of the small intestine forms a felt-like sheet at the base of the epithelium. Previous studies have shown that the basal lamina has numerous fenestrations, which are produced by leukocytes penetrating through the basal lamina. In this study, we aimed to directly visualize fenestrations of the rat basal lamina in intestinal villi by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after removal of the villous epithelium by osmium maceration and ultrasonic treatment. Structural changes in fenestrations were then investigated in relation to dietary conditions. SEM of these tissues revealed the presence of fenestrations in the villous epithelial basal lamina in all segments of the small intestine, although the number was the highest in the jejunum. The present study also showed that the number and size of fenestrations increased after feeding in the jejunum, whereas changes were unclear in the ileum. These findings suggested that the basal lamina fenestrations were changed through the dynamics of migrating leukocytes in dietary conditions and may also be related to the regulation of nutrient absorption, particularly as lipids are transported from the intercellular space of the epithelium to the lamina propria.