Rat Gastric Mucosal Epithelial Cell Culture

The stomach consists of many types of cells, including smooth muscle cells, mesenchymal cells, vessel forming cells, nerve cells, blood cells, including immune cells and gastric gland cells. Gastric epithelial cells can be further subdivided into at least 11 different cell types, ranging from highly differentiated cells to actively proliferating undifferentiated cells (1 ). Chief cells are characterized by production and secretion of pepsinogen, parietal cells have a specialized function as acid secreting cells, and neck cells and pit cells (surface mucous cells) are recognized as mucous producing cells. In addition, there are several kinds of endocrine cells producing gastrin, somatostatin, and histamine. These cells are considered to be terminally differentiated. On the other hand, premature forms of these cells such as pre-pit cells and pre-parietal cells also exist in the gastric gland. Interestingly and importantly, all of these different cell types are known to be originated from a single “stem cell”.