Cells of origin in human gastric neoplasms.

The epithelium of the surface mucosa of the human stomach is demonstrated to share an antigen (HP-DU-1) with human pancreatic ductal cell surface epithelium detectable by a murine monoclonal IgG. This marker was found to be characteristic of the epithelium of gastric surface mucosa and serves to distinguish these cells from the epithelium of gastric glands, the generative cell zone, the parietal and mucous neck cells. The absence of HP-DU-1 was confirmed in the epithelium of the small and large intestines, gall bladder, tracheobronchial trees, urinary bladder, intrahepatic bile ducts, prostatic and salivary glands. This surface marker was used to examine the participation of the surface mucosal cell in hyperplastic, pre-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the human gastric mucosa. Gastric hyperplastic polyps and polypoid hypertrophic gastritis were mainly composed of epithelium bearing HP-DU-1 antigens. In contrast epithelial cells of atrophic gastritis, atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia, and adenocarcinoma of the stomach lacked this antigen.