In the present study, we investigated whether activation of protease-activated receptor type 2 (PAR-2) with SLIGRL (SL)NH2, a short mimetic agonistic peptide, directly stimulates pepsinogen secretion from gastric-isolated, pepsinogen-secreting (chief) cells. Immunostaining of gastric-dispersed chief cells with a specific anti-PAR-2 antibody demonstrated expression of PAR-2 receptors on membrane...

OBJECTIVES In order to test the hypothesis that H. pylori infections in the gastric antrum increase pepsinogen I release, fasting serum pepsinogen I concentrations were compared in peptic ulcer patients with and without H. pylori infection. A randomized prospective study was performed to determine whether the increased serum pepsinogen I concentrations associated with H. pylori infection respon...

Muscarinic cholinergic mechanisms play a key role in stimulating gastric pepsinogen secretion. Studies using antagonists suggested that the M3 receptor subtype (M3R) plays a prominent role in mediating pepsinogen secretion, but in situ hybridization indicated expression of M1 receptor (M1R) in rat chief cells. We used mice that were deficient in either the M1 (M1R-/-) or M3 (M3R-/-) receptor or...

BACKGROUND Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most commonly used serologic test for Helicobacter pylori. This study aimed to investigate the effects of age and atrophic gastritis on the diagnostic accuracy of an immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody test against H. pylori in adults. METHODS One hundred and seventy dyspeptic patients (age range, 20-70 years) were evaluated. H. pylori i...

A fluorometric assay for pepsin and pepsinogen was developed using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a substrate. Acid denaturation of EGFP resulted in a complete loss of fluorescence that was completely reversible on neutralization. In the proteolytic assay procedure, acid-denatured EGFP was digested by pepsin or activated pepsinogen. After neutralization, the remaining amount of un...

Intramucosal peptic activity may participate in the genesis of acute and chronic superficial gastritis. The proteolytic activity of homogenates of gastric mucosa (antrum and body) and duodenum were measured at pH 2.0 (total peptic activity) after exposure to pH 8.0 (pepsinogen) and the activated pepsinogen (pepsin) was calculated in pediatric patients investigated for the presence of Helicobact...