Effects of fiber and fat on murine proximal colonic mucosal proliferation and crypt depth

Abstract 

The effects of 5 defined experimental diets and a commercial mouse diet on colonic epithelial proliferation in the C57BL/6L mouse were studied. Crypt length, mitoses per crypt, Ki-67–labeled cells per crypt, and growth fraction was assessed in colonic crypts from histologic slides. A control diet of no fiber and high fat produced the highest measures of proliferation. In comparison to the control, the no-fiber, low-fat diet and the 10% cellulose, high-fat diets showed statistically significant decreases in the measures of proliferation (P < .05). Fiber supplementation with wheat bran or guar gum was also associated with a tendency toward decreased mucosal proliferation, but these results were not statistically significant. This study demonstrates that dietary fiber can reduce the mitogenic impact of a high-fat diet upon the colonic mucosa in mice, but that these effects may be fiber dependent.

Keywords: Proliferation, Colonic, Epithelial, Low-fat diet, High-fat diet, Dietary fiber