ISSN:
1059-910X
Keywords:
Gastric mucosa
;
Gap junction
;
Tight junction
;
Gastric cancer
;
Gastric adenoma
;
Gastric ulcer
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Natural Sciences in General
Notes:
Our aim was to determine whether the development of gap junctions in the human gastric mucosa has any relation to gastric ulcer and gastric carcinoma. Freeze-fracture replicas were prepared from the endoscopic biopsy specimens of 20 patients with gastric ulcer and 7 healthy volunteers. Large fractured areas of lateral cell membranes of surface mucous cells were examined randomly under an electron microscope. Small gap junctions were observed between gastric surface mucous cells in all healthy volunteers. Gap junctions in the patients with gastric ulcer were significantly fewer than in the healthy volunteers. In addition, gap junctions in patients with recurrent ulcer were significantly fewer than in those with first-onset ulcer. There was no obvious relationship between age and the development of gap junctions in patients with gastric ulcer or in healthy volunteers. In the areas of intestinal metaplasia, gap junctions were occasionally seen between absorptive cells of the villi, but not in the lateral membranes of goblet cells. Fresh frozen sections for indirect immunofluorescence were prepared from the endoscopic biopsy specimens of 19 patients with gastric ulcer and 5 patients with gastric cancer. Monoclonal antibody against liver gap junction protein (anti-connexin 32, 6-3G11) was used for the indirect immunofluorescence. On the border of gastric ulcer, fluorescent spots in the surface mucous cells were significantly fewer than in the surface mucous cells of the body and antrum which were distant from the ulcer area in the same patients. In gastric cancer tissue specimens, fluorescent spots were not observed at all. On the other hand, fluorescent spots in the noncancerous tissue of the patients with gastric cancer were present along the intercellular junctions between gastric surface mucous cells. These findings suggest that loss of intercellular communication via gap junctions is associated with gastric ulcer formation and gastric cancer formation. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Additional Material:
6 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jemt.1070310306
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