Utilization of Short-Chain Fatty Acids by Colonic Mucosal Tissue Strips: A New Method of Assessing Colonic Mucosal Metabolism

Abstract

Background: Previous metabolic studies of the colonic mucosa have been done using isolated cells or small biopsy specimens. Methods: A new method for assessing the utilization of short-chain fatty acids in human colonic mucosal tissue strips considerably larger than routine samples was evaluated and compared with the method of isolated colonocytes. Human colonic mucosal strips and isolated human and rat colonocytes were incubated with acetate (C₂), butyrate (C₄), and hexanoate (C₆), and oxidation rates obtained by quantifying the production of CO₂. Results: The wet weight of strips was highly correlated with the production of CO₂, and intersample coefficient of variance was <10%. The production of CO₂ from the oxidation of C₂, C₄, and C₆ was in the order of C₂ > C₄