Structure and function of the vitamin A-storing cells in the digestive tract

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate) was injected subcutaneously or administered to rats by tube feeding. After subcutaneous injection, vitamin A was taken up and stored in cells in lamina propria mucosae of the rat intestine. After oral administration, vitamin A was absorbed from intestinal absorptive epithelial cells and transferred to the lamina propria mucosae; cells in the lamina propria mucosae took and stored the transferred vitamin A. Morphology of these cells was similar to that of a hepatic stellate cells (also called vitamin A-storing cell, lipocyte, interstitial cell, fat-storing cell, or Ito cell). Thus, these cells in the intestine can take up vitamin A from both of the systemic circulation and intestinal absorption, and store the vitamin in the lipid droplets in the cytoplasm. These data suggest that these cells are extrahepatic stellate cells of the digestive tract and may play roles in absorption and homeostasis of vitamin A.