Paneth cells true is all except:
a. Rich in RER.
b. High Zn content.
c. Foamy cytoplasm.
d. Numerous lysozyme granules.
Paneth cells, along with
goblet cells,
enterocytes, and
enteroendocrine cells, represent the principal cell types of the
epithelium of the small intestine.
[1] (A few may also be found sporadically in the cecum and appendix.) They are identified microscopically by their location just below the intestinal stem cells in the
intestinal glands and the large
eosinophilic refractile granules that occupy most of their cytoplasm. These granules consist of several anti-microbial compounds and other compounds that are known to be important in immunity and host-defense. When exposed to
bacteria or bacterial
antigens, Paneth cells secrete some of these compounds into the
lumen of the intestinal gland, thereby contributing to maintenance of the gastrointestinal barrier.
Paneth cells are named after
Joseph Paneth (1857–1890), Austrian physician.
[edit]Location
Paneth cells are found throughout the small intestine and the appendix at the base of the
intestinal glands.
[2] Like the other epithelial cell lineages in the small intestine, paneth cells originate at the stem cell region near the bottom of the gland.
[3] However, unlike the other epithelial cell types, paneth cells migrate
downward from the stem cell region and settle just adjacent to it.
[3] This close relationship to the stem cell region is thought to suggest that paneth cells are important in defending the gland stem cells from microbial damage,
[3] although their function is not entirely known.
[2][edit]Function
Small intestinal crypts house stem
cells that serve to constantly replenish
epithelial cells that die and are lost from the
villi.
Protection of these
stem cells is essential for long-term maintenance of the intestinal
epithelium, and the location of Paneth cells adjacent to stem cells suggests that they play a critical role in defending epithelial cell renewal.
[edit]Sensing microbiota
Paneth cells sense bacteria via MyD88-dependent toll-like receptor (TLR) activation which then triggers antimicrobial action.
[1][edit]Secretions
[edit]Defensins
The principal defense molecules secreted by Paneth cells are
alpha-defensins, also known as
cryptidins.
[4] These
peptides have
hydrophobic and positively-charged domains that can interact with
phospholipids in
cell membranes. This structure allows defensins to insert into membranes, where they interact with one another to form pores that disrupt membrane function, leading to cell lysis. Due to the higher concentration of negatively-charged phospholipids in bacterial than vertebrate
cell membranes, defensins preferentially bind to and disrupt bacterial cells, sparing the cells they are functioning to protect.
[5][edit]Other secretions
Stem Cells in the Intestine
Intestinal epithelial stem cells are thought to be located towards the bottom of the crypt in the large intestine, and superior to the Paneth cells in the small intestine.[7] Their differentiating progeny migrate upwards through the transit-amplifying zone in the lower-to-middle region of the crypt, before becoming terminally differentiated, and are eventually shed into the lumen[7] (Figure 1). An exception to this pathway is seen in Paneth cells of the small intestine, which remain at the bottom of the small intestinal crypt and are involved in keeping the crypt sterile[8] (Figure 1). The Paneth cell is one of five cell types into which the small intestinal epithelial stem cell can differentiate; the other cell types are the absorptive enterocyte, hormone-secreting endocrine cells, mucus-producing goblet cells and 'M' cells. M cells are involved in the transport of antigens from the gut lumen into Peyer's patches.
ans: c. Foamy cytoplasm
