Increase in gastrin and somatostatin cell numbers in the antrum of dogs after small bowel resection.

A proximal 50 p. 100 resection of the small bowel was performed in six dogs while six control animals underwent a simple intestinal transsection and reanastomosis. The pre- and postoperative serum gastrin levels were measured in both groups before and after a standard test meal. The stomach was resected in both groups 6 to 8 weeks after the operation. A morphometric method using specific antigastrin and antisomatostatin antibodies was used to estimate the density and the total number of antral gastrin and somatostatin cells. No variation in basal serum gastrin was found after surgery. A 50 p. 100, though not significant, increase in the postprandial gastrin response was observed after intestinal resection whereas a significant (P less than 0.01) 50 p. 100 increase in the gastrin cell density was found in the antral mucosa of these dogs. At the same time, a remarkable hyperplasia of the antral somatostatin cell population was observed in the animals submitted to small bowel resection.