Autoantibody to the gastrin receptor in pernicious anemia

We examined serum IgG fractions from 20 patients with pernicious anemia and 25 control subjects for their capacity to inhibit binding of [125I]15-leu human gastrin-17 to parietal-cell-enriched gastric mucosal cells. IgG fractions from six patients reduced gastrin binding by 45.6 +/- 12.2 per cent, as compared with a reduction of 1.8 +/- 0.7 per cent by fractions from the 25 controls. The fractions from these six patients also reduced gastrin-stimulated [14C]aminopyrine uptake by gastric cells (an index of gastric acid secretory activity in vitro) by 50.2 +/- 8.4 per cent (mean +/- S.D.), as compared with 9.2 +/- 4.1 per cent for the controls. IgG fractions from six other patients that did not reduce gastrin binding also inhibited gastrin-stimulated [14C]aminopyrine uptake, by 48.1 +/- 9.1 per cent. These reductions in gastrin binding and aminopyrine uptake were abolished by absorption of the IgG fractions with suspensions of viable gastric mucosal cells but not by absorption with liver or kidney cells. The IgG fractions did not inhibit [3H]histamine binding or histamine-stimulated [14C]aminopyrine uptake. These results suggest that serum IgG from some patients with pernicious anemia contains autoantibodies to the gastrin receptor.