Changes in gastric mucosal cell proliferation after antrectomy or vagotomy in man

The rate of gastric epithelial cell proliferation was studied in peptic ulcer patients treated by partial gastrectomy or proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV). Endoscopic biopsies were incubated in vitro with 3H-thymidine and autoradiographs were prepared. The percentage of DNA-synthesizing cells (labeling index) in the progenitor cell region was estimated. Five patients were studied before and 3 months after antrectomy, whereas six other subjects were studied before and 2 weeks and 2 months after PGV. The results indicate that epithelial cell proliferation in fundic mucosa is accelerated after antrectomy in man and that PGV is followed by an increased rate of cell renewal in fundic and antral mucosa, whereas the kinetic parameters in duodenal mucosa remain unaffected by this operation. It is concluded that the proliferative changes after these operations are most likely caused by the development of gastritis. The study did not support the hypothesis that gastrin exerts a physiological trophic action on human gastric mucosa.