Related Experiment Videos
Surfactant-like material in the antral gastric mucosa of children
A Sbarbati1, A Deganello, G Tamassia
1Institut of Normal Anatomy and Histology, University of Verona, Italy.
Insights
Gastric surfactant-like material (SLM) is present in children, appearing as lamellar bodies and layers. Pathological conditions in children show increased SLM on the gastric antral mucosa.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Cell Biology
- Histology
Background:
- Gastric mucosal hydrophobicity is attributed to surfactant-like material (SLM), primarily phospholipids.
- Previous studies focused on mammals; morphological data in children are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and morphology of SLM on the antral gastric mucosa in children.
- To compare SLM in children with normal mucosa versus those with ultrastructural alterations.
Main Methods:
- Electron microscopy was employed to examine SLM on the gastric antral mucosa of children.
- Tannic acid fixation method and glutaraldehyde fixation were used for comparison.
Main Results:
- SLM was observed in two forms: lamellar bodies and lamellar layers.
- SLM was detected using the tannic acid method in healthy mucosa but not with glutaraldehyde alone.
- Children with epithelial ultrastructural alterations exhibited increased gastric SLM compared to those with normal mucosa.
Conclusions:
- Surfactant-like material (SLM) is present in the gastric antral mucosa of children.
- The amount of gastric SLM is altered in pathological conditions and increased in children with epithelial ultrastructural changes.
Abstract:
It has been proposed that the hydrophobicity of the gastric mucosa is due to surfactant-like material (SLM), mainly composed of phospholipid, adsorbed to the mucosal surface. Biochemical and physiological studies have been performed in different mammals but morphological data on children are lacking. In the present work, the presence of SLM on the antral gastric mucosa of children has been studied by electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that SLM is present and shows two different forms, lamellar bodies and lamellar layers. In the mucosae without endoscopic, histologic, and ultrastructural alterations we have found SLM when the tannic acid method has been used but not when the tissue has been fixed only in glutaraldehyde. Our results suggest that in children with ultrastructural alterations of the epithelium, the amount of gastric SLM is increased in respect to children with a normal mucosa and that the amount of SLM on the surface of the gastric antral mucosa is modified in pathologic conditions.