Dynamics of epithelial cells in the corpus of the mouse stomach. V. Behavior of entero-endocrine and caveolated cells: general conclusions on cell kinetics in the oxyntic epithelium.

Entero-endocrine cells and the rare cells named caveolated or brush cells have been examined in light microscopic radioautographs of the mouse corpus after various periods of continuous 3H-thymidine infusion. Moreover a search for immature forms and mitoses of these cells was undertaken in the electron microscope. Entero-endocrine cells are present in the four regions of the epithelial units, but their number is low in the pit, intermediate in the isthmus and neck, and high in the base. The labeling pattern after continuous 3H-thymidine infusion indicates that these cells are produced in the isthmus from undifferentiated granule-free cells presumed to be the stem cells of the epithelium, and may retain a limited ability to divide. A few of the newly formed entero-endocrine cells migrate to the pit, but the majority goes to the neck and, from there, to the base where they are present in relatively high numbers. Little information is available on the dynamics of caveolated cells. Since immature forms are present in the isthmus and mature ones in the other regions, it is concluded that they arise in the isthmus and migrate away in both directions. Finally, concluding remarks are presented on the kinetics of each one of the cell lineages described in this and the four previous articles.