Gastric Morphology, Gastrin and Somatostatin in Experimental Gastritis in Mice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphological changes and endocrine profile in the gastric mucosa of mice with atrophic autoimmune gastritis induced by neonatal thymectomy. The gastritis was produced in neonatal mice [BALB/C (+/?)] of both sexes by thymectomy 3 days after birth. Of the thymectomized mice, 27.4% had marked reduction of parietal and chief cells as well as inflammatory cell infiltration, 64.1% of which had positive parietal cell antibody. Hypergastrinemia (332.0 ±231.9, control: 70.8 ± 41.3 pg/ml) was observed in mice with this type of atrophic gastritis. Mucosal concentration of antral gastrin was also increased (11.0±4.2, control: 7.25± 2.93 microgr/g) and antral G cell hyperplasia was observed in these mice (23.0±7.3, control: 12.8 ±4.7 cells/UA). Mucosal concentration of somatostatin in the body mucosa in mice with gastritis was decreased (0.598±0.391, control:0.840±0.440ng/mg) but in the antrum the concentration was almost the same as in the control (0.529±0.230 control: 0.418±0.340ng/ml). The number of body D cells was also decreased in these mice (4.0± 1.8, control: 6.1 ±0.8 cells/UA), but antral D cells were extremely few both in mice with gastritis and in control. Prematured cells and unclassified endocrine cells were increased in the body mucosa at ultrastructural levels and immunocytochemical studies did not revealed any noteworthy changes in endocrine cells such as enteric endocrine cells other than gastrin and somatostatin in mice with gastritis.