A morphometric study of changes in Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA)-binding pattern of the human gastric parietal cell in association with acid secretion.

Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA) specifically stains the perinuclear region of the human parietal cell that corresponds to the intracellular secretory canalicular membrane at the electron microscopic level (Histochemistry 83: 189, 1985). In the present study, the DBA-staining intensity of the parietal cell was quantitatively estimated in association with gastric acid secretion. Gastric fundic glandular tissues were taken by endoscopic biopsy from 11 healthy males before and after administration of tetragastrin (4 micrograms/kg) or betazol hydrochloride (1 mg/kg). Paraffin sections were prepared and stained with DBA by the ABC method. Light absorbance of the stained parietal cells covering a spot 20.9 microns in diameter was measured using a microspectrophotometer set at wavelength of 365 nm. In all cases, a significant increase in absorbance was recorded after stimulation. The total average of the absorbance before and after stimulation was 0.21 and 0.29, respectively. Electron microscopy revealed that the increase in absorbance was caused by an increase in surface area of the membrane of the intracellular secretory canaliculi.