Black arrow head indicates goblet cells cAMP inhibitor PAS/AB+; red arrow head indicates PAS+ cells. Right panel – Scale bar: 100 μm; Left panel – Scale bar: 50 μm. Morphometric analysis of the small and large intestine of the animals treated with bovicin HC5 or ovalbumin showed some impairment of the intestinal structure integrity, but the severity of the alterations caused by bovicin HC5 and ovalbumin was clearly different. The number of PAS+ cells, which secrete only neutral mucopolysaccharides, did not differ

among the groups (Figure 5A), and cells secreting exclusively acid mucins (AB+ cells) were not detected. The majority of goblet cells in NC group was PAS/AB+ cells, which secrete both neutral and acidic Kinase Inhibitor Library purchase mucopolysaccharides (83% of the total number of goblet cells). The number of PAS/AB+ cells did not differ between the NC and Bov groups, but it was significantly reduced in PC group (p < 0.05, Figure 5B). No differences were

observed in the total number of goblet cells in the small intestine of Bov group, when compared to the NC group. However, the total number of goblet cells in the small intestine of PC group was reduced when compared to Bov and NC groups (p < 0.05, Figure 5C). Figure 5 Comparison of the mucopolysaccharides production and number of total goblet cells among experimental groups. (A) PAS+ cells; (B) PAS/AB+ cells; (C) Total number of goblet cells. Data are shown as average ± SD, from two independent experiments (N = 8 mice per group). Statistically significant differences among treatments by the Dunn’s multiple comparison test (p < 0.05)

were indicated by different lowercase letters (“a” or “b”) above the error bars. (NC) negative control group; (Bov) mice treated with bovicin HC5; (PC) positive control group. Analysis of the Lieberkühn glands indicated hypertrophy of Paneth cells (Figure 6A) and an increase in the number of mitotic cells (Figure 6B) in Bov and PC groups when compared to the NC group (p < 0.05), although no differences were observed between Bov and PC groups (p > 0.05). No alteration on the number of mast cells on jejunum segments (mucosa and submucosa) was observed between Bov and NC groups, although a significant increase has been observed in PC group (p < 0.05) (Figure either 7). Figure 6 Analysis of the Lieberkuhn glands. Size of Paneth cells (A) and number of cells in mitosis (B) at the small intestinal crypts of the experimental groups. Data are shown as average ± SD, from two independent experiments (N = 8 mice per group). Statistically significant differences among treatments by the Dunn’s multiple comparison test (p < 0.05) were indicated by different lowercase letters (“a” or “b”) above the error bars. (NC) negative control group; (Bov) mice treated with bovicin HC5; (PC) positive control group. Figure 7 Number of mast cells in small intestine of the experimental groups.