Ultrastructural Changes in Small Intestinal Lipofibroblasts of Suckling Rabbits with Experimental Cholera

Ultrastructural analysis of the jejunum in suckling rabbits showed that lipofibroblasts localized in the submucosa and adjacent to crypts contain lipid inclusions (granules) with typical "melting" surface. Lipofibroblasts contained moderately widened cisternae of the granular endoplasmic reticulum and few mitochondria with dense matrix and poorly developed cristae. Experimental cholera was usually accompanied by a decrease in the number of lipid inclusions, and only in some cases by accumulation of lipid material. Our results suggest that the material accumulated in granules plays a role in the pathogenesis of cholera.