Development of aberrant crypt foci in the rat colon by a fission mechanism

Morphological analysis of isolated colonic crypts in rats, postnatally, indicated that the crypts reproduce themselves by a fission mechanism, the division beginning at the crypt base and proceeding upwards until there are two separate crypts. Occasionally before the separation is complete a second fission process starts on one or both sides of a bifurcating crypt and a triple-branched or quadruple-branched crypt results. Analysis of isolated aberrant crypt foci(ACF) in rats treated with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine(DMH) revealed that the development of ACF consisting of multiple crypts is also due to a fission mechanism. initially, an indentation appears at the base of a single ACF crypt with subsequent formation of a bifurcation and eventual crypt division.