Histological and Immunohistochemical Evaluation in IBD Animal Models

Histological analysis is the gold standard for assessing the extent of intestinal lesions and potential protective effects of drugs. In animal models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), detailed examination of gross changes and histological lesions of the intestine is feasible due to the advantages of rapidity, reproducibility, and availability of anatomical methods. Following sampling, anatomical specimens of the intestine can be directly observed and the colon mucosal damage score can be determined based on the severity of ulcers, inflammation, and mucosal edema.

Fig. 1. Histomorphological evaluation of intestinal inflammation in mouse models. Fig. 1. Representative H&E- and immunohistochemically stained colon sections illustrate epithelial changes and altered mucosa architecture. (Wirtz et al., 2007)

Our Histological and Immunohistochemical Evaluation Service

Ace Therapeutics has the capability to perform in-depth analysis of tissues from animal models of IBD to help clients better understand the etiology of IBD and develop drugs. Our services involve pathologic evaluation of intestinal tissue samples, including histologic features and degree of inflammation. We also offer immunohistochemical analysis to determine the expression of specific cell types or proteins in tissues to help clients identify potential therapeutic targets or biomarkers.

Our team of experienced pathologists provides high-quality histological and immunohistochemical evaluation services with detailed reports and interpretations for our clients.

Histopathological Evaluation in IBD Animal Models

We evaluate the intestinal histomorphology of IBD animals by H&E staining of tissue sections. Tissue sections are photographed using a light microscope and scored histologically for inflammatory cell infiltrates, epithelial changes, and mucosal architecture.

Score	Criterion	Score Value
Inflammatory cell infiltrate	Severity	Leukocyte density of lamina propria area infiltrated in evaluated high-power field: 0 Minimal: <10% 1 Mild: 10-25%; scattered neutrophils 2 Moderate: 26-50% 3 Marked: >51%; dense infiltrate
Inflammatory cell infiltrate	Extent	Expansion of leukocyte infiltration: 1 Mucosal 2 Mucosal and submucosal 3 Mucosal, submucosal and transmural
Epithelial changes	Hyperplasia	Increase in epithelial cell numbers in longitudinal crypts relative to baseline epithelial cell numbers per crypt; visible as crypt elongation: 1 Minimal: <25% 2 or 3 Mild: 25-35% 3 or 4 Moderate: 36-50%; mitoses in middle/upper third of crypt epithelium, distant from crypt base 4 or 5 Marked: >51%; mitoses in upper third of crypt epithelium, distant from crypt base
	Goblet cell loss	Reduction of goblet cell numbers relative to baseline goblet cell numbers per crypt: 1 or 2 Minimal: <20% 2 or 3 Mild: 21-35% 3 or 4 Moderate: 36-50% 4 Marked: >50%
	Cryptitis	2 or 3 Neutrophils between crypt epithelial cells
	Crypt abscesses	3 to 5 Neutrophils in crypt lumen
	Erosion	1 to 4 Loss of surface epithelium
Mucosal architecture	Ulceration	3 to 5 Epithelial defect reaching beyond muscularis mucosae
	Granulation tissue	4 or 5 Connective tissue repair with new capillaries, surrounded by spindle-shaped fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, macrophages, neutrophils and mononuclear cells as well as cell debris; pseudopolyps: villiformous, hypertrophied areas projecting into the lumen
	Irregular crypts	4 or 5 Non-parallel crypts, variable crypt diameters, bifurcation and branched crypts
	Crypt loss	4 or 5 Mucosa devoid of crypts
	Villous blunting	1 to 3 Mild: villous-to-crypt-length ratio of 2:1 to 3:1 2 to 4 Moderate: villous-to-crypt-length ratio of 1:1 to 2:1 3 to 5 Villous atrophy

Immunohistochemical Evaluation in in IBD Animal Models

We provide immunohistochemical analysis to assess the tissue expression of inflammatory markers (e.g., TNF-α, α4β7, VEGFRII, GR-1, CD25, CD3, IL-12p40, IL-23R, IL-17A, IL-36R and F4/80 ) in IBD animal models.

Integrating the experience of gastroenterologists, mouse researchers, microbiologists, and pathologists, Ace Therapeutics provides reliable services to assess histomorphology in animal models of IBD. Our experts are involved from tissue sampling and processing to data analysis to ensure the accuracy and reproducibility of histopathology data. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more information.

Reference

Erben, U., et al. (2014). A guide to histomorphological evaluation of intestinal inflammation in mouse models. International journal of clinical and experimental pathology, 7(8), 4557.

! For research use only, not intended for any clinical use.