Ultrastructural changes in gastric ulcers after bicitropeptide and cimetidine treatment

Ultrastructural studies were conducted on biopsy specimens taken by endoscopy from the edge of gastric ulcers in the distal part of the stomach of 9 patients before and after treatment with either bicitropeptide or cimetidine. Marked depletion of mucin granules in the mucous epithelial cells and the pyloric gland cells was found in all patients and there was morphological evidence of a block in the synthesis of mucus glycoproteins. This block was located in the Golgi region of these cells. Synthesis of structurally normal mucin granules was restored after treatment with either bicitropeptide or cimetidine.