Anti-BrdU Antibody [Bu20a] (A86223)

The long-chain polyunsaturated n-6 and n-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients in membrane biogenesis and regulate gene expression via their eicosanoid metabolites. We investigated whether the n-6 and n-3 fatty acid supply as determined by maternal diet alters colonic phospholipid fatty acids, intestinal morphology, and epithelial barrier permeability during milk feeding with lasting effect on mucosal responsiveness to dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS)-induced colitis in young adulthood. Female rats were fed diets with 20% energy from safflower oil (SO) or canola oil (CO), or 8% fish oil (FO) plus 2% SO (10% FO) or 18% FO plus 2% SO (20% FO) throughout gestation and lactation and offspring weaned to a standard diet at 21 days of age. At 15 days of age, pups in the 20% and 10% FO groups had lower 20:4n-6 and higher 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 in colon phospholipids (P < 0.01), shorter crypts (P < 0.05), and higher paracellular permeability than SO or CO groups. At 3 mo of age, male offspring in the FO groups showed lasting reduction of crypt depth and a heightened inflammatory response to DNBS. We demonstrate that early decreased colon 20:4n-6 with increased n-3 fatty acids impairs intestinal barrier development and sensitizes the colon response to inflammatory insults later in life.

We describe a new monoclonal antibody (designated Bu20a) against bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). This antibody was selected by screening against human tissues using the APAAP technique, and shows no crossreactivity with normal nuclei. It stains BrdU incorporated into the nuclei of a wide range of cell types, including human tonsil lymphoid cells, normal mouse tissues, and human tumors growing in nude mice. A double-labeling technique is described using this antibody in which cell smears or tissue sections are first labeled by an immunoperoxidase procedure for a cellular antigen (e.g., mouse or human histocompatibility class II antigen, T-lymphocyte antigen, keratin) and BrdU is then detected by indirect immunofluorescence. This procedure, which was applied to a variety of human and animal cells and tissues, is of wide potential value in analyzing the phenotype of S-phase cells and in co-localizing antigen expression and BrdU incorporation in tissue sections.