Mucosal cell proliferation in duodenal ulcer and duodenitis

Mucosal cell proliferation in the first part of the duodenum was studied in 24 patients using a tissue culture technique in which endoscopic biopsies were subjected to autoradiography after exposure to tritiated thymidine. Eight patients had a normal duodenum, eight had duodenal ulcer, and eight had symptomatic chronic non-specific duodenitis. The mean crypt labelling index (LI) in normal duodenum was 8.8 0.4% (SEM). Increased labelling indices of 15.6 +/- 1.7% were found near the edge of duodenal ulcers and 17.8 1.8% in duodenitis. Treatment with cimetidine reduced both the severity of duodenitis and the mean crypt LI. The LI of histologically normal duodenal mucosa distal to ulcer of duodenitis was similar to that of the control subjects' mucosa. The increased mucosal cell proliferation seen in severe duodenitis, either alone or associated with duodenal ulceration, suggested that erosions and ulcers arose when the crypts passed into 'high output failure' and were unable to compensate for further epithelial cell loss. There was no evidence in out study for a generalised failure of mucosal cell proliferation in duodenal ulcer or duodenitis.