Gastric Antigens in Health and Disease. Behaviour in Early Development, Senescence, Metaplasia, and Cancer

Abstract

Immunofluorescence studies of the behaviour of gastric antigens in health and disease have shown that during foetal development both gastric and intestinal antigens are present in the gastric superficial mucous epithelium. The intestinal component disappears soon after birth; it re-emerges in senescence and in metaplasia and neoplasia, while the gastric antigen, which normally persists in adult life, is depleted in these circumstances. The loss of adult and the re-emergence of foetal antigen in both metaplasia and neoplasia suggest a possible fundamental relationship between these conditions; the phenotypic variation may reflect cytogenetic liability, which has malignant transformation as a final irreversible step.

Application of Parietal Cell Autoantibody to Histopathological Studies

“…Regarding PCA-reactive substances in the developing stomach, DEBOER et al identified the antigens in extracts of fetal stomach. 2 Many autoimmune diseases endow us with various human antibodies against autologous tissue and cellular antigens. Some of these autoantibodies have been used for the investigative application in the field of cell b i o l~g y .…”

Incidence of carcinoma of stomach and tumour type

“…Great Britain is also a relatively low risk area and the Oxford region and Oxford city in particular have a lower risk rate than the national average, with a higher male to female ratio. Evidence suggests that environmental rather more than racial or hereditary factors are responsible for the differences in the incidence of gastric cancer (Wynder et al, 1963 (Stemmerman, 1967;Tarpila, Telkka and Siurala, 1969;de Boer, Forsyth and Nairn, 1969;Sasano et al, 1969). This applies to carcinomata which by Lauren's criteria would be classed either as intestinal or diffuse.…”

Ultrastructure of intestinal and diffuse type gastric carcinoma

“…K also show features of intestinal metaplasia, especially in the quality of secretion, in the pattern of enzymes (Jarvi, 1961(Jarvi, , 1966LaurCn, 1967;Ming;1973;Jarvi et al, 1975) and in the production of foetal antigens (Hakkinen, Jarvi, and Gronroos, 1968;de Boer, Forsyth, and Nairn, 1969;Kawasaki et al, 1972). In an electron-microscopical study (Sasano et al, 1969) it was concluded that most signet-ring cells were of goblet-cell type, but occasionally they could correspond to the mucous neck cells or pyloric gland cells.…”