To investigate the regulatory role of hydrocortisone in the postnatal decline of sialylation of intestinal brush-border hydrolases, we applied actinomycin D, the well-known inhibitor of transcription, simultaneously with the hormone to 9-day-old rats. On day 12 actinomycin D inhibited hydrocortisone-induced changes in the profile of enzyme activities along the villus-crypt axis and suppressed the appearance of asialylated forms of enzymes manifested precociously in the differentiating crypt cells under the effect of the hormone. These findings were correlative with sialyltransferase activity along the villus-crypt axis.

Institute of Physiology Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Prague

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) deficiency protects mice against severe forms of experimentally induced colitis

Identification of common epitopes on gliadin, enterocytes, and calreticulin recognised by antigliadin antibodies of patients with coeliac disease