AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 241, Issue 3 235-G241, Copyright © 1981 by American Physiological Society
Ontogeny of tissue and serum gastrin concentrations in fetal and neonatal sheep
L. M. Lichtenberger, S. S. Crandell, P. A. Palma and F. H. Morriss Jr
We investigated the perinatal ontogenic changes in ovine serum and tissue
gastrin concentration. Fetal and maternal serum gastrin levels in serums
obtained from indwelling catheters in the fetal and maternal circulations
and tissue gastrin levels were assessed by radioimmunoassay and
immunohistochemistry. Fetal serum gastrin concentration was undetectable
until the 107th day of gestation and significantly increased to levels
surpassing maternal values. Neonatal serum hormone concentration continued
to rise, reaching a peak during the 4th postnatal wk and decreasing after
the 4th wk coincident with weaning. Maternal serum gastrin concentration
did not vary during pregnancy and did not correlate with fetal serum
gastrin levels. Fetal abomasal and duodenal gastrin concentrations and
abomasal G-cell number increased in parallel with the developmental
alterations in fetal serum hormone levels during gestation. The
developmental increase in abomasal gastrin concentration was not associated
with a shift in the molecular form of the hormone. These findings support
the hypothesis that circulating gastrin in the fetus is of fetal origin.
