Immunolocalization of cholecystokinin-2 receptors in rat gastric mucosa.

BACKGROUND: Gastrin exerts trophic effects on the gastric mucosa by mechanisms not yet completely elucidated. Our aim was to localize the cholecystokinin-2 (CCK2) receptor in epithelial cells of foetal and adult rat stomachs in order to determine the cell types that are directly affected by gastrin. METHODS: Gastric tissue was subjected to indirect double immunofluorescence staining with antiserum against the C-terminal decapeptide of the CCK2 receptor and antibodies against 5' bromo-2-deoxyuridine, which had been injected into the rats I h before they were killed, the acid pump H,K-ATPase, the membrane-cytoskeletal linker ezrin, pepsin/pepsinogen or histidine decarboxylase. RESULTS: Undifferentiated foetal gastric epithelial cells expressed CCK2 receptors, whereas stem cells of adult gastric glands did not exhibit immunoreactivity. However, other epithelial cells in the progenitor zone of adult gastric glands did express CCK2 receptors. Some of these cells were faintly stained for H,K-ATPase; pepsin/pepsinogen was also detected in this region. Parietal cells in the isthmus/pit region of the glands contained ezrin, and some showed weak immunoreactivity for the CCK2 receptor. As expected, enterochromaffin-like cells also expressed CCK2 receptors. CONCLUSION: Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that a CCK2 receptor mediates direct effects of gastrin on gastric epithelial cells during both stomach organogenesis and adult life.

Chronic oesophagitis in the cat.

BACKGROUND: Our understanding of the pathophysiology of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in man is limited. The aim of the present study was to establish a long-term (>1 year) animal model for reflux oesophagitis which would allow us to study various aspects of the development of chronic reflux oesophagitis. METHODS: Myotomy was carried out in the gastro-oesophageal junction in eight cats; seven other cats were sham-operated. Before the operation, and every 2 months thereafter, oesophagoscopy was carried out, biopsies were taken for histology, and manometry was performed to determine the lower oesophageal sphincter pressure (LESP). The cats were killed 1 year after the operation. RESULTS: The myotomy operation resulted in a significantly decreased LESP. In oesophageal biopsies from these cats, there was a varying degree of oesophagitis starting already 2 months after surgery. In six of the eight myotomized cats there was hyperplasia of the stratum basale, and cardiac type metaplasia was observed in two cats. The control cats showed no significant changes in LESP or in the histology of the oesophagus. CONCLUSIONS: In cats followed for more than a year, myotomy in the gastro-oesophageal junction results in reflux oesophagitis similar to that seen in patients with chronic gastro-oesophageal reflux.

Expression of extracellular matrix proteins in the fetal rat gastric mucosa.

At gestational day 16 the epithelium of the rat stomach consists of a stratified layer of undifferentiated cells, and two days later glandular structures appear. The present study was carried out to identify extracellular matrix proteins that could be involved in the epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation processes that occur in the fetal rat stomach during this period. For comparative purposes the expression of the same components in the adult gastric mucosa was examined. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received an intraperitoneal injection of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine to label proliferating cells. One, 3.5, or 6 h post-injection the stomachs were excised and immediately frozen. The specimens were sectioned and stained with hematoxylin and eosin or for 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine, cytokeratin no. 8, H,K-ATPase, and the extracellular matrix proteins fibronectin, laminin, and collagens type I and IV. A stratified layer of proliferating cells was observed in the epithelium of the fetal stomachs, while in adult stomachs proliferating cells were detected in the isthmus/neck region of the glands. Cytokeratin, an epithelial cell marker, was sparse at gestational day 16 but abundant both at gestational day 18 and in the isthmus/neck region of gastric glands of the adult stomach. The parietal cell marker H,K-ATPase could not be detected in the fetal stomachs during this period. Fibronectin was observed in the stroma of both fetal and adult stomachs. Collagen type I could only be detected in the stroma close to the oesophagus at gestational day 16. Two days later, collagen type I was abundant in the lamina propria, the submucosa and in the serosa of the fetal stomachs. In adult tissue collagen type I was detected in the surface epithelium, the submucosa and in the serosa of the stomach. Collagen type IV and laminin were expressed in the lamina propria, the basement membranes around blood vessels, muscle cells, and nerve bundles, as well as in the serosa of both 16- and 18-day-old fetal and adult rat stomachs. In conclusion, a high cell proliferation rate was observed in the epithelium at both gestational days 16 and 18. The increased expression of cytokeratin observed during this period indicates that the epithelial character of the embryonic cells becomes more distinct, while the remarkable change in the expression of collagen type I might reflect an important role of collagen type I in the development of the gastric epithelium.

Proliferation and differentiation of cells from explants of fetal rat stomach.

The current understanding of the mechanisms controlling the proliferation and differentiation of the stem cells of the gastric oxyntic glands is limited. The aim of the present study was to develop a method for investigating proliferation and differentiation of undifferentiated cells from fetal rat stomach. Outgrowth of cells was initiated from explants of 16-day-old fetal rat stomachs. At this stage of the fetal development the gastric epithelial cells are undifferentiated. The explants were cultured in DMEM/F-12 medium supplemented with fetal calf serum only, or fetal calf serum combined with either hydrocortisone or pentagastrin. Morphological characterization by means of light microscopy, dye staining and immunostaining was used to identify the growing cells. Both hydrocortisone and pentagastrin accelerated the differentiation towards H,K-ATPase-positive cells, mucus-producing cells and other epithelial cells. H,K-ATPase-positive cells, which were identified by immunostaining with a monoclonal antibody reacting with the alpha-subunit of the H,K-ATPase, grew on top of the confluent layer of epithelioid and fibroblastoid cells. With this method in vitro investigations of the mechanisms of proliferation and differentiation of gastric mucosal cells are possible. Although by different mechanisms, both hydrocortisone and pentagastrin appear to play a regulatory role in these processes.

Gastrin and carbachol require cAMP to elicit aminopyrine accumulation in isolated pig and rat parietal cells.

The role of endogenous adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) in the mechanisms of action of gastrin and carbachol on aminopyrine accumulation in isolated pig and rat parietal cells was investigated. In pig cells, pentagastrin (100 nM) alone stimulated aminopyrine accumulation, an action significantly reduced by the protein kinase A inhibitor Rp-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate (Rp-cAMP[S]; 100 microM). In rat cells, gastrin-17 (100 nM) was incapable of stimulating aminopyrine accumulation, but it potentiated the action of histamine (100 microM). Carbachol (10 microM) stimulated aminopyrine accumulation and potentiated the action of histamine, and its action was potentiated in a dose-dependent manner by Sp-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate (Sp-cAMP[S]; a cAMP analogue) in both species. The effect of carbachol was dose dependently reduced by Rp-cAMP[S]. The basal cAMP in pig parietal cells was 3.5-fold higher than that in rat parietal cells. Histamine (100 microM) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX; 100 microM) only slightly elevated the cAMP content (1.2- to 2.9-fold the basal level) in both pig and rat parietal cells. Their combination, however, increased the cAMP level by 8- to 38-fold, but it did not increase aminopyrine accumulation above that elicited by histamine alone. Gastrin did not alter the cAMP levels in parietal cells of either of the two species. Both gastrin and carbachol increased cytosolic free Ca2+ in enriched pig and rat parietal cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Gastrin action on aminopyrine accumulation in isolated pig parietal cells requires cAMP.

The mechanism of action of gastrin on pig parietal cells was investigated. The aminopyrine accumulation technique was used to estimate acid production in gastric mucosal cells, containing 10-20% parietal cells, and in enriched parietal cells, containing 65-95% parietal cells. The gastrin analogue pentagastrin stimulated aminopyrine accumulation in a dose-dependent fashion irrespective of the proportion of non-parietal cells present. The apparent EC50 for pentagastrin was 5 nM and the maximally effective concentration was 100 nM. The histamine H2-receptor antagonist ranitidine did not affect the action of pentagastrin. The stimulatory effects of various doses of histamine on aminopyrine accumulation in highly enriched parietal cells were potentiated by the inclusion of 100 nM pentagastrin in the incubation medium. In another series of experiments using mucosal cells, the action of effective doses of pentagastrin were potentiated by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethyl xanthine (IBMX), which alone elicited an aminopyrine accumulation equal to 50% of that obtained by 100 microM histamine. When ranitidine (100 microM) was included, the action of IBMX was almost completely abolished. However, the dose-response curve for pentagastrin in the presence of ranitidine plus IBMX was similar to that obtained in the absence of IBMX. Dibutyryl-cAMP (DBcAMP, 1 mM) in the presence of ranitidine (100 microM) also potentiated the action of all effective doses of pentagastrin on mucosal cells. The protein kinase A inhibitor Rp-cAMPS, present at 500 microM in the incubation medium, significantly reduced the action of each effective concentration of pentagastrin on aminopyrine accumulation in enriched parietal cells. These results in pig parietal cells were interpreted as indicative of: (i) an action of gastrin exerted directly on the parietal cells; (ii) elevation of intracellular cAMP having a permissive role in the action of gastrin on aminopyrine accumulation.

Production of monoclonal antibodies against gastric parietal cell antigens.

Two mice DBA/1 were each immunized with a single injection of one million enriched parietal cells in the hind foot pads. Monoclonal antibodies to be used as research tools in studies on regulatory mechanisms in gastric parietal cells were obtained after fusion of mouse myeloma cells (SP2) with cells from the popliteal lymph nodes of the mice. Twelve hybridomas produced antibodies reactive with structures only present in parietal cells as assessed by immunohistochemistry of oxyntic mucosa sections. Three hybridomas were subcloned and the antibodies produced by them, designated as PC4, PC8, and PC117, were characterized. In an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, all antibodies reacted with H,K-ATPase-containing vesicles. The antibody PC8 recognized a 94 kDa protein after immunoblotting of H,K-ATPase-containing vesicles and all antibodies precipitated a 94 kDa protein from [125I]H,K-ATPase-containing vesicles. The antibodies PC4 and PC117 recognized extracellular structures with a polarized distribution in viable, purified parietal cells. The results suggest that the structure recognized by all three antibodies is the alpha-subunit of the H,K-ATPase. The antibodies produced by another hybridoma, PC43, recognized a structure present in parietal and surface epithelial cells of the oxyntic mucosa. In an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, they reacted with a high-activity carbonic anhydrase which had been affinity-purified from pig oxyntic mucosa and they recognized a 30 kDa protein after immunoblotting. Thus, monoclonal antibodies against both intracellular and extracellular parietal cell structures were obtained after immunization with a small number of parietal cells.

Gastrin potentiates histamine-stimulated aminopyrine accumulation in isolated rat parietal cells.

Rat gastric mucosal cells, containing 25-35% parietal cells, were obtained by a modified isolation procedure involving protease, ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, and mechanical treatments. Parietal cell responsiveness to secretagogues was assessed by the accumulation of the weak base [14C]aminopyrine in intracellular acidic compartments. Histamine, without phosphodiesterase inhibitors, dose dependently stimulated aminopyrine accumulation with an effective concentration producing 50% of maximal response of 13 microM and a maximal effective dose of 100 microM. Pentagastrin and rat gastrin-17 alone were ineffective but potentiated dose dependently the action of 100 microM histamine. The mean potentiating effect varied from 32 to 70% for 100 nM pentagastrin and from 36 to 95% for 100 nM rat gastrin-17. Pentagastrin (100 nM) also potentiated the effect of 1 mM dibutyryladenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) by 44%, but it did not increase further the stimulation by carbachol. The potentiating effect of pentagastrin on histamine- and dibutyryl cAMP-stimulated aminopyrine accumulation was also observed after enrichment of parietal cells to 65-85%. The endogenous histamine was insufficient to stimulate acid production. Therefore gastrin appears to have a direct action also in rat parietal cells.

Inhibition of H,K-ATPase and Na,K-ATPase by DIDS, a disulphonic stilbene derivative.

Disulphonic stilbenes are effective inhibitors of an anion exchanger which is present in the plasma membranes of many cells (Cabantchik et al. 1978). In the present study, the effects of 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulphonic stilbene acid (DIDS) on the transport activity of the hydrochloric acid pump isolated from pig stomach (H,K-ATPase, EC 3.6.1.36) were tested. Half-maximal inhibition of proton transport carried out by the H,K-ATPase in the isolated vesicles was observed at micromolar concentrations of DIDS. The effects of DIDS on the adenosine-trisphosphatase and p-nitrophenyl-phosphatase activities of isolated H,K-ATPase were also studied and compared with those of the kinetically and structurally related Na,K-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.37). Half-maximal inhibition of the enzymatic activities of both enzymes were observed in the micromolar range of DIDS. The lipid bilayer of the gastric vesicle membrane is highly asymmetric and the original cytosolic side is facing the outside of the vesicle. Since DIDS does not readily cross the membrane, it is most likely that DIDS exerts its inhibitory effects by modifying the transport ATPases on their cytosolic sides.