Basic Research
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 7, 2005; 11(9): 1317-1323
Published online Mar 7, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i9.1317
Changes of the gastric endocrine cells in the C57BL/6 mouse after implantation of murine lung carcinoma: An immunohistochemical quantitative study
Sae-Kwang Ku, Hyeung-Sik Lee, Joon-Seok Byun, Bu-Il Seo, Jae-Hyun Lee
Sae-Kwang Ku, Pharmacology and Toxicology Laboratory, Central Research Laboratories, Dong-Wha Pharmaceutical Industrial Co. Ltd, Anyang 430-017, Republic of Korea
Hyeung-Sik Lee, Department of Herbal Biotechnology, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 712-715, Republic of Korea
Joon-Seok Byun, Bu-Il Seo, College of Oriental Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 712-715, Republic of Korea
Jae-Hyun Lee, Lab. of Histology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Taegu 702-701, Republic of Korea
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Hyeung-Sik Lee, Department of Herbal Biotechnology, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 712-715, Republic of Korea. endohist@dhu.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-53-8191436 Fax: +82-53-8191574
Received: August 18, 2004
Revised: August 21, 2004
Accepted: October 5, 2004
Published online: March 7, 2005
Abstract

AIM: The regional distributions and relative frequencies of some gastric endocrine cells of C57BL/6 mice were studied by immunohistochemical method using seven types of specific antisera against chromogranin A (CGA), serotonin, somatostatin, gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK)-8, glucagon and human pancreatic polypeptide (HPP) after subcutaneous implantation of murine lung carcinoma (3LL) cells.

METHODS: The experimental animals were divided into two groups, one is non-implanted sham and the other is 3LL-implanted group. Samples were collected from the two regions of stomach (fundus and pylorus) at 28 d after implantation of 3LL cells (1×105 cell/mouse).

RESULTS: In this study, all the seven types of immunoreactive (IR) cells were identified except for HPP. Most of these IR cells in the gastric portion were generally spherical or spindle in shape (open-type cell) while cells showing round in shape (closed-type cell) were found occasionally. The regional distributions of gastric endocrine cells in the 3LL-implanted group were similar to those of non-implanted sham. However, significant decreases of some types of IR cells were detected in 3LL-implanted group compared to those of non-implanted sham. In addition, the IR cells showing degranulation were numerously detected in 3LL-implanted group. CGA-, serotonin- and somatostatin-IR cells in the fundus and pylorus regions, and gastrin-IR cells in the pylorus regions of 3LL-implanted groups significantly decreased compared to those of non-implanted sham. However, no changes on frequencies of CCK-8- and glucagon-IR cells were demonstrated between 3LL-implanted and non-implanted groups.

CONCLUSION: Endocrine cells are the anatomical units responsible for the production of gut hormones, and the change in their density would reflect a change in the capacity of producing these hormones. Implantation of tumor cell mass (3LL) induced severe quantitative changes of gastric endocrine cell density, and the abnormality in density of gastric endocrine cells may contribute to the development of gastrointestinal symptoms such as anorexia and indigestion, frequently encountered in patients with cancer.

Keywords: Gastric endocrine cells; Gut hormones; 3LL