Quantitative confocal imaging along the crypt-to-surface axis of colonic crypts

A study was conducted to examine how the three-dimensional structure of the colonic epithelium affects its complex absorptive and secretory functions. Confocal microscopy was used to measure the extracellular pH along the colonic crypt-to-axis of living perfused mouse colonic epithelium. The results show that exposure to short-chain fatty acids caused differential regulation of extracellular pH in the crypt lumen and in the lamina propria around the crypts.