Spatial distribution of osteoblast activating peptide in the rat stomach

Osteoblast activating peptide (OBAP) was previously reported to be expressed in the rat stomach and to have a vital role in osteogenesis, but its distribution in rat stomach has not been determined. Thus, the aim of the present study was to identify the cell types expressing OBAP in the rat stomach. The stomachs of twelve 10-to-11-week-old male Jc1:SD rats were used. Samples were collected for immunohistochemistry, immunoelectron microscopy and dot blot assay. Immunohistochemical investigation revealed that OBAP was distributed mainly in parietal cells without any expression in chief cells, X/A-like cells or enterochromaffin-like cells. Moreover, OBAP-immunopositive cells were observed mainly in the upper and lower parts of the gastric gland. Significantly high optical density of immunopositive cells was observed in the upper and lower gastric gland regions. The dot blot assay confirmed that OBAP is secreted by parietal cells and that it is present in the gastric gland lumen. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that OBAP was confined to the mitochondrial inner membrane within parietal cells and that the number of mitochondria in the upper and lower parts of the gastric epithelium was significantly larger than the number in the middle part of the gastric epithelium. Based on the results, it was concluded that OBAP is mainly produced by mitochondria of parietal cells in the upper and lower parts of the gastric epithelium. Moreover, the presence of OBAP in the gastric gland lumen suggests an exocrine mechanism of release.