Kirton, C. M., T. Wang, and G. J. Dockray. Regulation of parietal cell migration by gastrin in the mouse. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 283: G787-G793, 2002. First published April 24, 2002 10.1152/ajpgi.00538.2001.-Recent studies suggest that gastrin regulates parietal cell maturation. We asked whether it also regulates parietal cell life span and migration along the gland. Dividing cells were labeled with 5Ј-bromo-2Ј-deoxyuridine (BrdU), and parietal cells were identified by staining with Dolichos biflorus lectin. Cells positive for D. biflorus lectin and BrdU were reliably identified 10-30 days after BrdU injection in mice in which the gastrin gene had been deleted by homologous recombination (Gas-KO) and wild-type (C57BL/6) mice. The time course of labeling was similar in the two groups. The distribution of BrdU-labeled parietal cells in wild-type mice was consistent with migration to the base of the gland, but in Gas-KO mice, a higher proportion of BrdU-labeled cells was found more superficially 20 and 30 days after BrdU injection. Conversely, in transgenic mice overexpressing gastrin, BrdU-labeled parietal cells accounted for a higher proportion of the labeled pool in the base of the gland 10 days after BrdU injection. Gastrin, therefore, stimulates movement of parietal cells along the gland axis but does not influence their life span. gastric epithelium; cell migration; bromodeoxyuridine THE ORGANIZATION OF THE EPITHELIUM throughout the gut is maintained by cellular proliferation followed by migration and differentiation. Proliferating cells in the gastric epithelium are located in the isthmus region of the glands (7). Cells that leave the cell cycle may migrate toward the surface, adopting a mucus-secreting phenotype, or toward the base of the gland, where the main differentiated cell types are parietal, chief, and endocrine cells. In addition, the latter cell types migrate to arrange themselves in characteristic tubular ensembles that constitute the gastric glands. This process is thought to depend on cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, but little is known of the relevant regulatory mechanisms.It is well recognized that gastrin influences the organization of the gastric epithelium and acutely regulates acid secretion (17). Elevated plasma gastrin concentrations are associated with increased parietal cell mass (15) and hyperplasia of histamine-producing enterochromaffin-like cells (1,12,14). Mice in which the gastrin gene has been deleted by homologous recombination (Gas-KO) are achlorhydric and do not respond to acute administration of the acid secretagogues gastrin, histamine, and carbachol (6). They do, however, secrete acid after treatment with gastrin for Ն24 h (2, 6). These observations, therefore, suggest that gastrin plays a role in parietal cell maturation. Interestingly, in transgenic mice with moderate hypergastrinemia (Ins-Gas mice), there is an initial increase in parietal cell numbers, although this is followed (Ͼ4 mo) by a progressive loss of glandular cells and foveolar hype...