Growth pattern of the polypeptide-YY cell population in the upper digestive tract of the rat during the perinatal period and after weaning

Summary The distribution of polypeptide-YY cells within the gastric and duodenal mucosa of the rat and the development of their populations were examined daily from 3 days before birth until day 8 postpartum and after weaning, on day 25 postpartum, using a precise technique of quantification. Polypeptide-YY cells appeared in the stomach around the 19th day of gestation. They were always more numerous in the antral mucosa and particularly in the pyloric sphincter area than in the fundic mucosa. Immunogold staining at the electron-microscopic level revealed that, in the antrum, polypeptide-YY was colocalised with gastrin in endocrine cells mainly of type G and, more rarely, in cells of intestinal type IG. Comparison of the gastrin and polypeptide-YY cell populations in the same rats indicated that, except at day 6 postpartum, there were fewer gastric polypeptide-YY cells than immunoreactive gastrin cells and that polypeptide-YY cells were 8 times less numerous than gastrin cells at day 25 postpartum. Polypeptide-YY cells were clearly present in the duodenum of the 19-day-old embryo. This population increases with age until day 8 postpartum, then significantly decreases (by 87%) between days 8 and 25 postpartum. Because polypeptide-YY may inhibit secretion of gastric acid, it is possible that the presence of significant population of polypeptide-YY cells in the upper digestive tract during the first postnatal week of life may play a role (endocrine or paracrine) in the decreased acid secretion occurring in the newborn rat.     

The relationship between gastrin cells and bombesin-like immunoreactive nerve fibres in the gastric antral mucosa of guinea-pig,rat, dog and man

Summary The relationship between bombesin-like immunoreactive (bombesin-LI) nerve fibres and gastrin-LI G-cells was examined in gastric antral mucosa from guineapig, rat, dog and man using a double-labelling fluorescence immunohistochemical technique. The greatest density of bombesin-LI nerve fibres was found within the basal mucosa in all species and the density of innervation decreased towards the luminal surface. Most G-cells were in a band occupying approximately the middle third of the mucosa. The proportion of G-cells found within a distance of 2 m from bombesin-LI nerve fibres was low in all species (6% in the guinea-pig, 22% in the rat, 14% in the dog, and 9% in the human). It is proposed that the neuropeptide released from bombesin-LI antral mucosal nerve fibres traverses distances of greater than several m to reach the target G-cells. This may be achieved by passage through the mucosal microcirculation.     

Morphological changes in the middle intestine of the rainbow trout,Salmo gairdneri,induced by a hyperosmotic environment

Summary The structural modifications in the middle intestine of the trout, Salmo gairdneri, induced by transfer to seawater have been studied. During the first two days in seawater, significant distensions of the intercellular spaces are observed between the apical tight junctions and the basement membrane. These dilations are more frequent in the apical part of the intestinal folds. At the basal part of the cell, numerous lamellar processes open in the intercellular spaces. They are closely associated with elongated mitochondria, and are often mixed with small clear vesicles. After seven days in seawater, intercellular spaces are less expanded. Numerous mitochondria are observed in the apical part of the cell, and numerous myelinic bodies with dense granules lie near the nucleus. After one month in seawater, the epithelium resembles that of the freshwater controls; mitochondria are more numerous and other organelles are well developed. The most important modifications of the ultrastructure of the intestine mucosa occur during the first two days in seawater, in correlation with important physiological changes following the abrupt increase of environmental salinity.     

Scanning electron microscopy of vascular architecture in the gastric mucosa of the golden hamster

Summary The three-dimensional architectures and the regional differences of the vascular system in the mucosa of the hamster stomach were revealed by scanning electron microscopy of corrosion casts. In the forestomach, the vascular network spreads two-dimensionally in a thin lamina propria. In the corpus and the antrum, the capillaries in the thick lamina propria are well developed, extending three-dimensionally along the gastric pits and glands. In the corpus, the submucosal arteries enter the lamina propria to become ascending capillaries, which project toward the top of the lamina propria and anastomose to create a capillary network beneath the mucosal epithelium. A subepithelial capillary is much wider in diameter than an ascending capillary and is, therefore, a sinusoid capillary. Subepithelial capillaries join descending venules, which are less numerous than the ascending capillaries. Near the gastric lumen, the capillaries in the corpus can be classified into two types: arched type in the cephalic (upper) region and honeycomb type in the caudal (lower) region. In the antrum, the submucosal arterial plexus is less well developed than that in the corpus. The mucosal aspect of the corrosion cast shows many clumps, formed by a unit of capillary network. Functional significances of different vascular architectures in the gastric mucosa of the forestomach, corpus, and antrum are discussed.This study was supported in part by grants from the Research Fund of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan     

Heterotypic induction of stomach-like glands in the urogenital sinus endoderm under the influence of stomach mesenchyme of foetal rats

Summary Urogenital sinus endoderm of 16.5-day rat foetuses was combined with stomach mesenchyme and the recombinants were either treated with testosterone and grown in vitro or cultured beneath the kidney capsule of adult male rats of the same strain. It was found that testosterone stimulated mitosis in the urogenital endoderm. In recombinants grown under the kidney capsule a stratified squamous epithelium and stomach-like glands were induced under the influence of the forestomach and glandular stomach mesenchymes. However, the induced glands expressed neither rat pepsinogen nor rat ventral prostatic antigen. They did not produce mRNA for the prostatic steroid-binding protein C1. Thus, stomach mesenchyme of rat foetuses induces organ-specific morphogenesis but not functional differentiation in the heterologous endoderm, indicating that cytodifferentiation does not always accompany morphogenesis.     

The distribution of blood group antigens in rodent epithelia

Summary The pattern of distribution of antigens cross-reacting with antibodies to human blood group antigens A and B and two precursor molecules was examined by immunofluorescence in the epidermis, oral mucosa and forestomach of rats and mice. Staining for blood group antigen A was negative. In all epithelia examined, blood group antigen B was present at the surface of basal and parabasal cells, and the H antigen at the surface of spinous cells. N-acetyllactosamine was present on the cell membranes in the upper spinous and granular cell layers of epidermis and forestomach epithelium and was not expressed in the oral epithelia except for a limited area in the dorsal tongue epithelium.Thus, the expression of antigen varies both regionally and, as earlier shown in human epithelium, with the stage of maturation of cells within a given epithelium. The observed sequence of expression of these antigens during maturation differs from that of human epithelia, but the present study provides a basis for further experimental studies of the role of cell surface antigens in epithelial homeostasis and maturation.     

Kinetics of the mucosal antibody secreting cell response and evidence of specific lymphocyte migration to the lung after oral immunisation with attenuated S. enterica var. typhimurium

The kinetic of mucosal secretory responses elicited by the vaccine vector Salmonella enterica var. typhimurium (S. typhimurium) was examined by enzyme linked immunospot (ELISPOT) and compared with serum responses. Mice immunised orally with BRD509, the aroA, aroD mutant of virulent S. typhimurium SL1344 expressing the C Fragment of tetanus toxin (TT), simultaneously developed an IgA antibody secreting cells (ASC) response in the gastrointestinal lamina propria, the spleen and the lung, against both S. typhimurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and TT. The magnitude of the ASC response was greatest in the gut, was boosted by a secondary immunisation at day 25, and the kinetic of the response did not correlate with the appearance of serum antibodies. This study suggests that S. typhimurium can engage the common mucosal immune system to effect mucosal secretory responses at distal sites, however, the magnitude of the responses is both greatest in the gut and antigen-specific. The ASC origin of the serum antibodies specific for S. typhimurium and antigens expressed by the bacterium is yet to be elucidated.     

Developmental gene expression of gastrin receptor in rat stomach

Gastrin, which is present in fetal plasma, may have important roles in the development of gastric mucosa, since it is not only a potent stimulator of gastric acid secretion but also a growth promoting factor. Gastrin regulates various cellular functions via its receptors on cell membrane. Therefore, in order to elucidate a role for gastrin in the development of gastrointestinal system during gestation, Northern blot analysis was performed. The results of the study suggested that gastrin receptor is mainly present on parietal cells. Furthermore, proton pump and gastrin receptor gene expressions in parietal cells were strongly stimulated by the administration of exogenous gastrin. In conclusion, gastrin may be involved in the developmental change of parietal cells through its receptors.     

胃癌癌旁肠化上皮酶组织化学研究

本文应用酶组化方法对６０例胃癌癌旁粘膜中４７例肠化上皮（７８．３％）的破性磷酸酶（ＡＬＰ）、酸性磷酸酶（ＡＣＰ）、胞嘧啶单核苷酸酶（ＣＭＰ）、葡萄糖－６－磷酸酶（Ｇ－６－ｐａｓｅ）、焦磷酸硫胺素酶（ＴＰＰａｓｅ）、５－核苷酸酶（ＳＮａｓｅ）、三磷酸腺苷酶（Ｍｇ２＋－ＡＴＰａｓｅ,Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰａｓｅ）和细胞色素氧化酶（ＣＣＯ）等九种细胞器标志酶进行了定位观察。结果发现肠化上皮吸收细胞上述酶活性均较强,且分布具有极性,杯状细胞酶反应较弱,主要位于细胞基底部。癌旁粘膜肠化阳性率为７８．３％,其中ＡＬＰ阳性的酶完全型肠化和ＡＬＰ阴性的酶不完全型肠化分别占５３．２％,４６．８％,两者出现率相近。酶完全型肠化ＡＬＰ阳性率在胃分化型癌及未分化型癌瘤旁分别占６９．２％和３３．３％。ＡＬＰ阳性率在胃分化型及未分化型癌组织内分别为３５．５％和０％。提示肠化上皮具有与肠上皮相似的代谢特征,酶完全型肠化和酶不完全型肠化可能是肠化的二种不同的形式,在致癌环境下,二者都有可能转变成癌,其中酶完全型肠化与分化型癌的关系较为密切。     

菌群失调腹泻抗生素造模对小鼠肠黏膜的影响

目的研究抗生素造模对菌群失调腹泻小鼠肠黏膜的影响。方法正常组给予无菌生理盐水0.35m L/(只·次)灌胃,其余各组采用头孢拉定胶囊和硫酸庆大霉素注射液用无菌生理盐水配成浓度为62.5g/L抗生素混合液0.35 m L/(只·次)灌胃。每天2次,连续5 d。造模成功后,采集小鼠空肠、回肠和结肠,分别测量绒毛高度、隐窝深度、淋巴细胞数和肠黏膜厚度,观察肠黏膜情况。结果菌群失调腹泻抗生素造模后,空肠、回肠和结肠的隐窝深度及肠黏膜厚度与正常组相比,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);造模后的结肠淋巴细胞数与正常组相比较,高于正常组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05),造模后的空肠绒毛高度与正常组相比,明显低于正常组,差异有统计学意义(P0.01)。结论菌群失调腹泻抗生素造模使结肠淋巴细胞数增高,空肠绒毛高度降低。