PANCREATIC METAPLASIA OF THE HUMAN GASTRIC-MUCOSA IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH EXPRESSION OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-ALPHA BUT NOT OF EPIDERMAL GROWTH-FACTOR

Pancreatic acinar metaplasia of the gastric mucosa is a newly recogniz ed entity, Its physiological relevance and association with other path ological conditions in the stomach remain to be elucidated. We studied by immunohistochemistry the expression of growth markers in the gastr ic mucosa in biopsies from 15 patients with recognized pancreatic meta plasia. Pancreatic metaplasia (both acinar and dispersed forms) was fo und in routine paraffin sections and confirmed by strong lipase immuno reactivity. In parallel paraffin sections we performed immunostaining for epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-alpha (T GF alpha) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) using a biotin s treptavidin method, Strong expression of TGF alpha but only weak expre ssion of EGF was noted within metaplastic mucosa. EGFr was strongly ex pressed, not only in areas of pancreatic metaplasia but also in the su rrounding gastric mucosa.