Changes in Parietal and Mucous Cell Mass in the Gastric Mucosa of Normal Subjects with Age: A Morphometric Study

Abstract

Whether or not the gastric mucosa undergoes significant changes in normal aging subjects is still open to debate. In 51 subjects undergoing endoscopy and lacking any significant endoscopic or histologic modification we evaluated mucosal thickness, gland number, numbers of parietal, chief and mucous cells at the fundus and of mucopeptic cells at the antrum, with a morphometric method, subgrouping the patients according to their age class. Our findings demonstrate that the number of parietal cells tends to increase with age and, on the other hand, the number of mucous cells is reduced in elderly subjects (p < 0.05). When considering the parietal-to-mucous cell ratio, this is significantly increased (p = 0.0005) with age. Acid secretion being an offensive factor and mucus a fundamental component of the gastric mucosal barrier, these findings suggest an increased susceptibility of the gastric mucosa to damage in the elderly.

Non-invasive assessment of gastric secretory function in centenarians

“…About histo-pathology, studies found the number of parietal cells increasing with age and the number of mucous cells reduced in elderly subjects; 13 the existence of intact molecular biological basis for acid secretion in healthy elderly individuals; 14 a decreased gastric secretions and impairment of the mucous-bicarbonate barrier in elderly. 15 Conflicting results arose also regarding acid secretion in elderly subjects affected by peptic ulcer.…”

Histomorphometric Changes of The Parietal Cell of The Stomach with Age - A Postmortem Study

“…After isolation, the samples were divided into three age-groups i.e. group A (2-16 years), group B (17-22 years), and group C (23-65 years), according to Farinati et al 5 Preparation of histological slides: The stomach was fixed in 10% formol saline in a plastic container. A total of 8 relatively fresh samples from group A, 8 from group B and 14 from group C were selected for histological study.…”

“…5,6 They are large, rounded and triangular cells. [5][6][7] It is known that the capacity of the stomach to secrete hydrochloric acid is almost linearily related to parietal cell numbers.…”

“…5,6 They are large, rounded and triangular cells. [5][6][7] It is known that the capacity of the stomach to secrete hydrochloric acid is almost linearily related to parietal cell numbers. 8,9 From the end of the first trimester, parietal cells are present in a mature, functional form in the gastric mucosa with the potential to secrete gastric acid.…”

Morphometric Features and Glycoconjugate Pattern of Rabbit Intestine are Affected by Particle Size of Pelleted Diets

“…Age can affect the glycoprotein composition and the properties of gastrointestinal mucus layer (Corfield et al, 1993;Farinati et al, 1993;Deplanske and Gaskins, 2001). Alterations in the intestinal mucus layer have been reported in various intestinal disorders (Shirazi et al, 2000;Einerhand et al, 2002;Swidsinski et al, 2007).…”