Effects of Short-Term Treatment with an H+,K+-ATPase Inhibitor (B8301-078) on Enterochromaffin-Like (ECL) Cells in Rat Fundic Mucosa

Abstract

In the present study, female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated orally over 2, 14, and 29 days with 50 mg/kg/day of the H+,K+-ATPase inhibitor B8301–078, a substituted benzimidazole. The endocrine cells in the fundic mucosa were quantified by light microscopy with the aid of Grimelius silver staining and examined by electron microscopy. After 2 days of treatment, the number of argyrophilic Grimelius-positive cells (GPC) was clearly reduced compared to the controls, whereas after 14 and 29 days, hyperplasia was observed. Electron microscopy showed that there was only an apparent decrease in GPC density after 2 treatments. This reduction was due to the massive degranulation of the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells and the resultant decrease in stainability with silver. After 14 and 29 days the granular depletion was less pronounced. The cells were, therefore, detectable again by light microscopy.