Body Mucosa Research Articles

GASTRIC ANTIBODIES STUDIED BY FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY.

Antibody specific for the mucosa of the body of human stomach was detected by the method of complement‐fixation in 62 percent of patients with Addisonian pernicious anæmia, in 20 per cent of patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis, in 25 per cent of patients with spontaneous hypothyroidism, and in 3 per cent of blood donors. Using the technique of fluorescence microscopy the specificity of this gastric antibody has been further defined to a particulate component of parietal cell cytoplasm. It is an auto‐antibody that will react equally well with homologous gastric mucosa provided the mucosa contains a normal concentration of healthy parietal cells. The indirect fluorescent antibody technique is a more sensitive test for parietal cell antibody than the method of complementfixation and the incidence of positive results in Addisonian pernicious anæmia, Hashimoto thyroiditis, spontaneous hypothyroidism and blood donors is correspondingly higher at 78, 25, 32 and 4 per cent respectively. Complementfixing gastric antibody is distinct from antibody to intrinsic factor but the latter does not appear to stain any other cell type in the gastric body mucosa with the fluorescent antibody technique.The relationship between pernicious anæmia, chronic thyroiditis and idiopathic adrenal insufficiency is discussed and it is argued that one of the basic factors in the pathogenesis of these three conditions is a genetically determined defect in immunological tolerance.

SODIUM AND POTASSIUM IN CANINE GASTRIC MUCOSA AND SMOOTH MUSCLE.

Sodium content of unstimulated canine gastric mucosa of the body area measures 71 ± 1 mEq, of pyloric gland area, 75 ± 1 mEq, and of gastric smooth muscle, 73 ± 1 mEq/kg wet wt. Potassium content of these tissues is 65 ± 1, 58 ± 1, and 72 ± 2 mEq/kg wet wt., respectively. Volume of distribution of radioiodinated serum albumin (Risa) is 71 ± 8, 104 ± 16, and 45 ± 10 ml/kg wet wt. Erythrocyte content is 13 ± 1, 7 ± 1, and 8 ± 1 ml/kg wet wt. Tissues also were analyzed after 150 min of stimulation with histamine and methacholine, the only significant changes being a fall in sodium content of body mucosa and pyloric gland area. Values for extravascular sodium and potassium were calculated by subtracting amounts in Risa space and erythrocytes from total tissue values. On stimulation, values for extravascular sodium tend to fall and those for potassium tend to rise. Sodium of all the tissues comes to within 90% of equilibrium with radiosodium (Na24) in plasma within 5 min, and only 3–5 mEq/kg wet wt. of sodium in the tissues fails to equilibrate with plasma Na24 in 150 min.

Effects of heparin and asbestos with corticotrophin on the mucosal mast cells and tissue eosinophils of rat stomach.

ABSTRACT Intact rats were injected once with a suspension of asbestos and for 5 days with 2 IU of adrenocorticotrophin-zinc per day. 1.0 mg of heparin was injected intraperitoneally 9 times at 12-hourly intervals and the same amount of ACTH intramuscularly. The rats were decapitated 5 days after the injection of asbestos, 24 hours after the last ACTH injection and 3 hours after the last heparin injection. The mucosal mast cells and tissue eosinophils of the stomach were counted from the body mucosa and recorded per mm2 of tissue. Heparin caused no changes in either the mast cell count or tissue eosinophilia, nor did it bring about any changes in the degranulation of mucosal mast cells during the ACTH effect, or in the destruction of tissue eosinophilia. Asbestos peritonitis seemed to have a degranulating effect on mucosal mast cells and a destructive effect on tissue eosinophilia. It also appeared to increase the effect of ACTH on the mucosal cells. It is suggested that glucocorticoids stimulated by ACTH exert such an immediate effect on the function of the cells of the mucosal lamina propria that the inhibitory effect of heparin and asbestos is counteracted.

Effects of dexamethasone, prednisolone and cortisol on the mast cells and tissue eosinophils in rat gastric mucosa.

ABSTRACT Intact rats were injected intramuscularly at 8-hourly intervals with equal amounts, 6×1.0 mg, of dexamethasone (16α-methyl-9α-fluoro-prednisolone) as phosphate, prednisolone (11β,17,21-trihydroxy-pregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione) and cortisol (11β,17,21-trihydroxy-pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione) both as succinates, all three in water soluble form. The rats were decapitated 4 hours after the last injection and the mucosal mast cells and tissue eosinophilic cells in the body mucosa of the glandular stomach counted. Calculation of the mast cell degranulation and the destruction of tissue eosinophils during the experiment gave the following degranulation coefficients for the degranulation of gastric mucosal mast cells: 0.541 for dexamethasone, 0.177 for prednisolone and 0.088 for cortisol. The corresponding destruction coefficients for the loss of tissue eosinophilia were 0.858, 0.156 and 0.124. It is suggested that the degranulation and destruction coefficients obtained in the investigation are correlated with the catabolic biological activity of the glucocorticoids.

The Relationship Between the Secretions of the Gastric Mucosa and its Morphology as Shown by Biopsy Specimens

Summary Fifty-four patients have been studied to determine the relation between gastric secretion (the total volume, acid and pepsin content) and the histological appearance of the mucosa of the body of the stomach. A biopsy specimen was taken as representative of the body mucosa. and was obtained by a flexible gastric biopsy tube. Cases of gastric ulcer and carcinoma have been intentionally excluded for reasons given in the text. The findings of the investigation were: (1)If severe atrophy of the mucosa were present, achlorhydria with low total volume and low to absent pepsin was invariable. No exceptions were encountered in eighteen cases. (2)If a normal or nearly normal mucosa were obtained, there was usually normal or intermediate secretion. Three exceptions were seen in thirty-six cases.