2017 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

In the intestinal mucosa, TGR5 labeling was identified as a granular staining pattern in the membrane of goblet cells, enterocytes, and colonocytes. Enteroendocrine cells in the crypts of the small and large intestine showed granular labeling in the cytoplasm and membrane, as did resident macrophages in the lamina propria and Peyer's patches. Granular and homogeneous labeling was present in the cytoplasm and membrane of ganglion cells in the submucosal and muscularis plexus of the small and large intestine. In the muscularis, both layers of smooth muscle expressed TGR5 in the membrane. In the liver, the membrane of the biliary epithelium and the canalicular surface of the hepatocellular membrane were positive, as were the cytoplasm and membrane of Kupffer cells. The epithelium of the gallbladder showed granular labeling in the membrane and cytoplasm. In the pancreas, membranous labeling was evident in the epithelial cells of the ducts, and a membranous/cytoplasmic pattern was identified in approximately 40% of islet cells. The cytoplasm and membrane of endothelial cells were positive in all the examined tissues.