Comparative study of parietal and lumen microflor in the large intestine in experiments on mice

The methodological aspects of the study of the microflora of the parietal mucous layer (parietal mucin) of the large intestine is discussed; the study is difficult because the mucin layer is thin closely associated with epithelium and the impossibility of the mechanical separation of this layer from the epithelium without damaging the latter is possible. The method of homogenization fails to determine of the composition of parietal mucin proper. Such possibility becomes real after the dissolution of mucin and obtaining the suspension of microbial cells. As experimentally shown in vitro, urea solution, reducing disulfide bonds, effectively depolymerized mucin and exhibited no antibacterial and cytolytic activity. With the use of urea treatment, microflora of parietal mucin of the large intestine was studied on 44 non-inbred mice. This newly developed method was shown to have higher resolution in comparison with the traditional one (homogenization). Some qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the microflora of parietal mucin were established. In the same group of mice the study of fecal microflora was made and compared with microflora of parietal mucin.