Figure 5.
Increased small intestinal permeability occurs before the onset of inflammation in SAMP mice. (A) Paracellular permeability, measured in the small intestine and colon using the in vivo probe assay, was increased as early as 3 wk of age in SAMP (□) compared with age-matched AKR (▪) mice, and remained elevated through 20 wk. (B) Total inflammatory scores for the ileum and colon show that inflammation was not significantly increased in SAMP versus AKR ileum until 12 wk of age. (C) Ileal MPO activity, providing a quantitative marker of active inflammation, showed a strong correlation with histologic ileal inflammatory score (r = 0.77) and was also not increased in SAMP versus AKR mice until 12 wk. n ≥ 4 per group; *P < 0.05 versus age-matched AKR.