Hyperplasia of gastric antral beta-microseminoprotein endocrine-like cells and increased serum levels of beta-microseminoprotein in atrophic corpus gastritis.
BACKGROUND
Beta-microseminoprotein is a 94-kDa protein present on most mucosal surfaces in the body. It is produced in mucin cells but is also found in a particular type of cells (E-cells) in the gastric antral mucosa. Most of these cells also contain gastrin. In atrophic corpus gastritis the gastrin-producing cells become hyperplastic, and the patients have hypergastrinemia. We wanted to ascertain whether there is a similar effect on the E-cells and on the concentration of beta-microseminoprotein in serum.


METHODS
Antral biopsy specimens from 10 patients with atrophic corpus gastritis and 10 controls were stained immunohistochemically for beta-microseminoprotein and gastrin. beta-Microseminoprotein and gastrin were measured by radioimmunoassay in serum from 15 women with atrophic corpus gastritis and 31 healthy female blood donors.


RESULTS
There was a 3.5-fold increase of the number of E-cells (which also were hypertrophic) and a 2.1 times higher serum concentration of beta-microseminoprotein in the patients with atrophic corpus gastritis than in the control subjects. Gastrin was seen in 28% of the E-cells in patients with atrophic corpus gastritis, compared with 87% in normal antral mucosa. There was no correlation between the serum concentrations of beta-microseminoprotein and gastrin.


CONCLUSIONS
In atrophic corpus gastritis antrum E-cells undergo hyperplasia and hypertrophy, and the proportion of E-cells containing gastrin decreases. Increased amounts of beta-microseminoprotein are secreted to the blood but uncorrelated with gastrin.
Dept. of Surgery, University of Lund, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
H
H
Weiber
K
K
Borch
C
C
Lindström
E
E
Toth
P
P
Fernlund
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry; D005755:Gastrins / Q000032:analysis; D005757:Gastritis, Atrophic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D029584:Prostatic Secretory Proteins; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
D005755:Gastrins; D010455:Peptides; D029584:Prostatic Secretory Proteins; C043076:beta-microseminoprotein