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Histochemical, ultrastructural, and three-dimensional observation of smooth muscle cells in human gastric mucosa

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Abstract

The present study was undertaken to clarify the histochemical and ultrastructural properties and the three-dimensional distribution of the smooth muscle cells (SMCs) located in the lamina propria (LP) of the human gastric mucosa. Standard paraffin sections obtained from stomachs surgically resected for gastric cancer were immunostained for alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), vimentin, desmin, laminin, and type IV collagen. In addition, 100-μm-thick sections were fluorostained for alpha-SMA and CD34, while three-dimensional images were prepared by confocal laser scanning microscope. Ultrastructural studies were carried out using normal gastric biopsy specimens. The results indicated that SMCs in the LP differed between the upper and lower regions, SMCs in the lower LP being fairly typical SMCs, whereas those in the upper LP had apparently lost reactivity for desmin but gained that for vimentin. The basal lamina became sparser, but a fibronexus was occasionally seen in SMCs in the upper LP. Three-dimensional images revealed bundles of SMCs in the upper LP encircling several foveolae to form acinus-like structures and, in the upper LP, SMCs branching into fine fibrils with a brush-like (corpus) or besom-like (i.e., a twiggy “witch’s broom”) appearance (antrum).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Takayuki Honda (Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan) for extremely helpful discussion and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, 390-8621, Nagano, Japan

    Hiroyoshi Ota

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan

    Kenichi Arai, Kenji Sano & Tsutomu Katsuyama

  3. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shinshu University Hospital, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan

    Eiko Hidaka & Masayoshi Hayama

  4. Department of Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan

    Atsushi Sugiyama

  5. Department of Endoscopy, Shinshu University Hospital, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan

    Taiji Akamatsu

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  1. Kenichi Arai
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  2. Hiroyoshi Ota
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  3. Eiko Hidaka
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  4. Masayoshi Hayama
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  5. Kenji Sano
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  6. Atsushi Sugiyama
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  7. Taiji Akamatsu
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  8. Tsutomu Katsuyama
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Correspondence to Hiroyoshi Ota.

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Arai, K., Ota, H., Hidaka, E. et al. Histochemical, ultrastructural, and three-dimensional observation of smooth muscle cells in human gastric mucosa. Histochem Cell Biol 121, 229–237 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-004-0628-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-004-0628-6

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