Increased Concentrations of the NH₂-Terminal Fragment of Gastrin-17 in Acute Duodenal Ulcer and Acute Gastritis

Abstract

The concentration of the NH₂-terminal fragment of gastrin-17 in serum was determined by radioimmunochemistry. Two antisera were used, one specific for the COOH-terminus and the other for the NH₂-terminus of gastrin-17. The NH₂-terminal gastrin-17 immunoreactivity in unfractionated serum correlated well with the amount of fragment found after gel filtration of the same sera (p < 0.001). In healthy subjects (no. = 100), the NH₂- and COOH-terminal gastrin immunoreactivity was 8 ± 1 and 20 ± 1 pmol/l (mean ± SEM), respectively. In patients with acute duodenal ulcer (no. = 30) and acute gastritis (no. = 10) the NH₂-terminal immunoreactivity was fourfold increased compared with in healthy subjects (p < 0.001), whereas the COOH-terminal was identical, the NH₂- and COOH-terminal concentrations being 33 ± 7 and 22 ± 2 pmol/l in duodenal ulcer and 35 ± 6 and 21 ± 1 pmol/l in acute gastritis. Other groups of patients had NH₂- and COOH-terminal gastrin concentrations in serum similar to those measured in healthy subjects. The results suggest that gastrin cells process gastrin-17 abnormally during the acute phase of duodenal ulcer and gastritis.

Key-words:

• Duodenal ulcer
• gastrin
• NH₂-terminal fragment of gastrin-17
• gastritis
• radioimmunoassay