An enteric ultrastructural surface atlas of the model insect Manducasexta.

ABSTRACT: The tobacco hornworm is a laboratory model that is particularly suitable for analyzing gut inflammation, but a physiological reference standard is currently unavailable. Here, we present a surface atlas of the healthy hornworm gut generated by scanning electron microscopy and nano-computed tomography. This comprehensive overview of the gut surface reveals morphological differences between the anterior, middle, and posterior midgut, allowing the screening of aberrant gut phenotypes while accommodating normal physiological variations. We estimated a total resorptive midgut surface of 0.42 m² for L5d6 larvae, revealing its remarkable size. Our data will support allometric scaling and dose conversion from Manduca sexta to mammals in preclinical research, embracing the 3R prin

SUBMITTER: Windfelder AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10981077 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature