Table 2 Quantitative freeze fracture electron microscopy analysis of tight junctions.
| TJ strands (number) | TJ mesh depth (nm) | Total TJ depth (nm) | Strand discontinuities (/1 μm strand length) | n | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface | Crypt | Surface | Crypt | Surface | Crypt | Surface | Crypt | ||
| Control | 7.2 (0.2) | 7 (0.4) | 438 (18) | 395 (24) | 521 (54) | 510 (11) | 0.2 (0.1) | 0.2 (0.1) | 6 |
| Active CD | 4.7 (0.2)* | 4.4 (0.2)* | 363 (24)** | 348 (27) | 459 (58) | 412 (43) | 2.9 (0.2)* | 2.2 (0.2)* | 6 |
Number of TJ strands, depth of the main TJ meshwork (TJ mesh depth) and total TJ depth including aberrant strands in mild to moderately inflamed Crohn's disease and control. For quantification of strand discontinuities, strand interruptions of ⩾25 nm were counted within the main compact meshwork of the TJ and expressed per 1000 nm single‐strand length. All values are means (SEM).
*p<0.001 versus control.
**p<0.05 versus control.
CD, Crohn's disease; TJ, tight junctions.