Summary: Paneth cells inhabit small pits in the small intestine called crypts. These paneth cells are protecting the stem cells that are stored in these crypts. The small intestine's lining is constantly damaged by bile and dygestive enzymes, so every few days in a human it is re-lined, and if it were not humans would not be able to absorb nutrients from food. These stem cells, are responsible for the re-lining of the small intestine, and without them, the small intestine would not be replenished. Now, these paneth cells protect the stem cells from bacteria by firing off lysozome, and killing the attacking bacteria.
Relevance: We learned that enzymes speed up reactions in cells for breaking down complex sugars like breaking down sucrose into glucose and fructose, and other things, like in the lab with the catalase and the hydrogen peroxide. But, in this case the enzyme is breaking down a bacterial wall, and if a cell doesn't have a cell wall then all it's cytoplasm and organelles could not be contained and the contents would spill out everywhere.
Written 3/29/03
Accessed 10/21/12
By: John Travis
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/801/title/Tales_from_the_crypts_Cells_battle_germs
Do the stem cells themselves line the small intestine or do they differentiate and divide into other types of cells?
ReplyDeleteDo the paneth cells have any other functions?
ReplyDelete