Abstract
Summary
The antral gastrin concentration of female Snell dwarf mice (dw/dw) was 30% the concentration of normal female littermates. In addition, the mutants had an abnormally thin duodenal mucosa, having significant reductions in the number of mitoses/crypt, crypt length, and villus height. Because crypt length was reduced to a greater extent than villus height, the villus/crypt ratio was significantly higher in mutants than in normal mice. It was determined that antral gastrin concentration in both mutants and normal mice could be significantly increased over a 16-day period by transplantation of a normal pituitary under their renal capsule. Ectopic pituitary transplantation in mutants also significantly increased the number of mitoses per crypt as well as crypt length but did not influence villus height, resulting in a decrease in the villus/crypt ratio to normal levels. Administration of exogenous prolactin to mutants (125 μg/day) over a 2-week period did not significantly influence antral gastrin levels and had a marginal growth-promoting effect on the duodenal mucosae.
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