Hypergastrinemia after blockade of acid secretion in the rat: trophic effects

The availability of potent and long-acting blockers of acid secretion, such as omeprazole, has paved the way for experimental studies on the long-term effects of permanently raised levels of circulating gastrin without the complication of surgical intervention. We have examined rats given high doses of the antisecretagogues omeprazole and ranitidine during 10 or 20 weeks for general trophic effects on the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas and for the effects on endocrine cells such as the somatostatin cells and the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, which are present in the oxyntic mucosa. The ECL cells, which in the rat produce and store histamine (in addition to an as yet unidentified peptide hormone), are known to be activated by gastrin. In rats given high doses of omeprazole, the serum gastrin levels rose about 10-fold. General trophic effects were restricted to the stomach; the weight was increased, as was the thickness of the oxyntic mucosa. Omeprazole treatment resulted in a 3- to 5-fold increase in the ECL cell density. A close correlation was found between plasma gastrin levels and the ECL cell density as well as the levels of histidine decarboxylase and histamine in the oxyntic mucosa. The somatostatin cell density was unaffected by the hypergastrinemia. During a 10-week recovery period after discontinuation of the omeprazole treatment, the ECL cell density diminished, but was still significantly higher than in age-matched control rats. Plasma gastrin levels and gastric histidine decarboxylase activity rapidly returned to control values. The results suggest that the observed general trophic effects on the oxyntic mucosa and on the ECL cells are related to the plasma gastrin levels and not to an action of the antisecretagogues per se.