Clinicopathologic study of dextran sulfate sodium experimental acute colitis

The mechanism of DSS colitis is presently unknown. However, the finding of crypt loss without proceeding or accompanying inflammation suggests that the initial insult is at the level of the epithelial cell with inflammation being a secondary phenomena. This may be a good model to study how early mucosal changes lead to inflammation and the biology of the colonic enterocyte. Chronic colitis induced after only 7 days of DSS may serve as a useful model to study the effects of pharmacologic agents in human inflammatory disease and mechanisms of perpetuation of inflammation. Finally, we believe that this model has the potential to study the dysplasia cancer sequence in inflammatory disease.