Detection of gastrin mRNA in human antral mucosa and digestive endocrine tumors by in situ hybridization: a correlative study with immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy

In gastrinomas, as well as in other endocrine tumors whose hormone overproduction is responsible for clinical syndromes, antibodies against the bioactive form(s) of hormones can fail to detect immunoreactivity. Moreover, tumor secretory granule morphology may fail to allow tumor type identification....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry 1992-09, Vol.40 (9), p.1363-1372
Main Authors: Walker, FM, Lehy, T, Bernuau, DG, Sobhani, I, Bayle, D, Feldmann, G, Lewin, MJ
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Digestive System Neoplasms - metabolism
Endocrine Gland Neoplasms - metabolism
Endocrine Gland Neoplasms - pathology
Gastric Mucosa - metabolism
Gastric Mucosa - ultrastructure
Gastrins - genetics
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Lymph Nodes - metabolism
Lymphatic Metastasis
Medical sciences
Microscopy, Electron
Nucleic Acid Hybridization
Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
Tissue Fixation
Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome - metabolism
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In gastrinomas, as well as in other endocrine tumors whose hormone overproduction is responsible for clinical syndromes, antibodies against the bioactive form(s) of hormones can fail to detect immunoreactivity. Moreover, tumor secretory granule morphology may fail to allow tumor type identification. The use of anti-pre-pro-gastrin antibodies has been proposed as an alternative to identify gastrinomas. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate that in situ detection of gastrin mRNA may represent another possibility. A 35S-labeled cDNA probe encoding the human gastrin pre-pro-hormone was used to localize gastrin gene transcripts in antral mucosa and digestive endocrine tumors from patients with a Zollinger-Ellison syndrome characterized by high serum gastrin levels. In situ hybridization was combined with light and electron microscopic immunostaining of the bioactive gastrin 17/34 form and morphological study of secretory granules. Gastrin mRNAs were detected in antral gastrin cells and in a variable proportion of tumor cells in all endocrine tumor studied. Transcript expression correlated well with immunohistochemical staining and granule ultrastructure for most of the tumors, and provided crucial evidence for identifying as gastrinomas two tumors with weak immunoreactivity and poorly granulated cells. Our data show that in situ hybridization is a sensitive method for gastrin mRNA detection and represents a valuable tool for the identification of gastrinomas.
ISSN:0022-1554
1551-5044
DOI:10.1177/40.9.1506673