GASTRIC MORPHOLOGY, GASTRIN AND SOMATOSTATIN IN EXPERIMENTAL GASTRITIS IN MICE

The purpose of this study was to examine the morphological changes and endocrine profile (gastrin, somatostatin) in the gastric mucosa of mice with atrophic gastritis induced by neonatal thymectomy. The mice were killed on 2 months after thymectomy which was done on 3 days after birth in BALB/c (+/?) mice. Of the thymectomized mice, 27.4% had marked reduction of parietal and chief cells as well as inflammatory cell infiltration especially lymphocytes, plasma cells and eosinophilic cells, 64.1% of which had positive parietal cell antibody. Hypergastrinemia, antral G cell hyperplasia and increase of mucosal concentration of antral gastrin was observed in mice with this type of atrophic gastritis. On the other hand, mucosal concentration of somatostatin and the number of D cells in the body mucosa in mice with gastritis were decreased when compared to those in the control, but in the antrum the concentration and the number of D cells were almost the same as those in the control.