Figure 4.

Retention of stem cell populations in Il10^−/− and Il10^−/− Tnfr1^−/− colitis. Il10^−/− Tnfr1^−/− (IL10R1) mice (n = 5 mixed-sex mice per group) exhibited worsened colitis and infiltration, abscess, and hyerplasia, as demonstrated by histological scoring (A) and photomicrographs of hematoxylin-eosin (H&E)-stained sections (B). In situ hybridization: positively stained cells for Lgr5 (C), Ephb3 (D), and Lrig1 (E) are located at the crypt base in unaffected, hyperplastic, and severely affected colonic regions from Il10^−/− (IL10) and Il10^−/− Tnfr1^−/− (IL10R1) mice. Strong upregulation (arrows) of Ly6a (F) was observed in Il10^−/− Tnfr1^−/− mice (F). G: densitometry of 10 representative crypts in the affected regions of the colon. No significant changes were observed in the overall epithelial abundance of Lgr5, Ephb3, or Lrig1. However, Ly6a was highly upregulated in Il10^−/− Tnfr1^−/− mice. H: summary of overall changes in the density of Lgr5 staining in the different injury models. Control measurements were obtained from water-treated mice in the cohort shown in Fig. 1. I: summary of the overall proportion of crypts that contain at least one Lgr5+ cell in the different injury models. Thirty crypts were sampled from the affected regions of each mouse. Scale bars: B: 100 µm, C–F: 50 µm. *P < 0.05. Statistics: ns P > 0.05; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. Two-tailed t tests. Error bars: means ± SE.