Endocrine-like cells containing
glucagon,
glicentin or
pancreatic polypeptide immunoreactivity in human foetal and adult stomach, with or without disease, were studied with the indirect immunoperoxidase method and mirror sectioning technique. In foetal and neonatal oxyntic mucosae, there were endocrine-like cells with
glucagon and
glicentin immunoreactivities and argyrophilia. Cells containing
glicentin immunoreactivity alone were detected earlier than
glucagon cells during foetal development, and were also distributed throughout foetal to neonatal life. Bovine
pancreatic polypeptide immunoreactivity coexisted in a subpopulation of the
glucagon-
glicentin cells. These cells were absent from normal oxyntic mucosa in the postneonatal period and from normal
antral mucosa throughout life. Hamartomatous
polyp in adult oxyntic mucosa, hyperplastic oxyntic mucosa in
Menetrier's disease and atrophic oxyntic mucosa in a remnant stomach with
cancer showed scattered
glucagon-
glicentin cells, but few or no cells containing bovine
pancreatic polypeptide. Intestinalized mucosa showed plentiful
glicentin cells with occasional
glucagon and/or bovine
pancreatic polypeptide immunoreactivity. Some
gastric cancer cells of both diffuse and adenoplastic types contained immunoreactive
glicentin and, less frequently,
glucagon. Bovine
pancreatic polypeptide immunoreactivity was detected in a few adenoplastic
cancer cells, but not in diffuse type cells. Three different anti-
pancreatic polypeptide sera against bovine, porcine or human
pancreatic polypeptide detected basically the same cells mentioned above, but pancreatic polypeptide cells lacking human
pancreatic polypeptide immunoreactivity were also present in foetal oxyntic mucosa. Immunoabsorption tests revealed that the bovine
pancreatic polypeptide immunoreactivity was remote from
peptide YY and
neuropeptide Y.