AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 238, Issue 3 165-G176, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Probes of parietal cell function

T. Berglindh, D. R. Dibona, S. Ito and G. Sachs

The site of acid secretion in the gastric mucosa has been inferred, but never proven. Using differential interference-contrast (Nomarski) microscopy an expansion of intracellular vacuoles was observed in the parietal cells of living rabbit gastric glands following histamine stimulation. A similar vacuolization occurring only in part of a parietal cell population could be induced by high concentrations of accumulated weak base, aminopyrine, in the absence of secretagogue. In high-K+ medium, 10(-3) M aminopyrine induced massive vacuolization in all parietal cells, consistent with the strong effect of high K+ in stimulating aminopyrine uptake by isolated glands. Electron micrographs showed that the apparent vacuoles correspond to the secretory canaliculi in various stages of swelling. Acridine orange, a fluorescent dye which is distributed across natural membranes as a function of a pH gradient and binds in a multimolecular fashion (stacking) to negative sites, was accumulated by gastric glands as a function of acid secretion. Visualization of such glands by fluorescence or a combination of Nomarski and fluorescence microscopy showed a red fluorescence in the expanding secretory canaliculi that was in sharp contrast to the green fluorescence in the rest of the cell. From these data it is concluded that the site of acid secretion is indeed the secretory canaliculus of the parietal cell. It is also possible that the formation of secretory canaliculi may be induced osmotically and that the peripheral "parietal" position and triangular shape of the parietal cell is necessary to allow expansion and oriented apical flow of HCl.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. McDaniel, A. J. Pace, S. Spiegel, R. Engelhardt, B. H. Koller, U. Seidler, and C. Lytle Role of Na-K-2Cl cotransporter-1 in gastric secretion of nonacidic fluid and pepsinogen Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, September 1, 2005; 289(3): G550 - G560. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Hernandez-Rincon, M. Olguin-Martinez, and R. Hernandez-Munoz Enhanced Intracellular Calcium Promotes Metabolic and Secretory Disturbances in Rat Gastric Mucosa during Ethanol-Induced Gastritis Experimental Biology and Medicine, March 1, 2003; 228(3): 315 - 324. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. G. Duman, N. J. Pathak, M. S. Ladinsky, K. L. McDonald, and J. G. Forte Three-dimensional reconstruction of cytoplasmic membrane networks in parietal cells J. Cell Sci., March 15, 2002; 115(6): 1251 - 1258. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Sonnentag, W.-K. Siegel, O. Bachmann, H. Rossmann, A. Mack, H.-J. Wagner, M. Gregor, and U. Seidler Agonist-induced cytoplasmic volume changes in cultured rabbit parietal cells Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, July 1, 2000; 279(1): G40 - G48. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. H. Hirst Parietal cell membrane trafficking Focus on "Expression of rab11a N124I in gastric parietal cells inhibits stimulatory recruitment of the H+-K+-ATPase" Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, September 1, 1999; 277(3): C359 - C360. [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Altan, Y. Chen, M. Schindler, and S. M. Simon Tamoxifen inhibits acidification in cells independent of the estrogen receptor PNAS, April 13, 1999; 96(8): 4432 - 4437. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Altan, Y. Chen, M. Schindler, and S. M. Simon Defective Acidification in Human Breast Tumor Cells and Implications for Chemotherapy J. Exp. Med., May 18, 1998; 187(10): 1583 - 1598. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]