Functional characteristics of surgically induced jejunal neomucosa

Growth of new jejunal mucosa was induced in four dogs by patching a jejunal defect with intact colon. Three of the dogs had nearly complete coverage of the colon by neomucosa 36 weeks postoperatively; the fourth had 50 to 60 per cent coverage. Histologically, the neomucosa had some normal villi; others were short and blunt. Several brush border enzymes were assayed: levels of aminopeptidase, maltase, and lactase activities were normal; alkaline phosphatase, sucrase, and trehalase activities were significantly less active than in normal adjacent mucosa. Amino acids were concentrated intracellularly to the same degree by neomucosa and normal mucosa. The neomucosa was sufficiently similar to normal jejunal mucosa to warrant further studies to determine its usefulness in ameliorating severe forms of the short gut syndrome.