Increased Concentrations of the NH2-Terminal Fragment of Gastrin-17 in Acute Duodenal Ulcer and Acute Gastritis

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Abstract
The concentration of the NH2-terminal fragment of gastrin-17 in serum was determined by radioimmunochemistry. Two antisera were used, one specific for the COOH-terminus and the other for the NH2-terminus of gastrin-17. The NH2-terminal gastrin-17 immunoreactivity in unfractionated serum correlated well with the amount of fragment found after gel filtration of the same sera (p < 0.001). In healthy subjects (no. = 100), the NH2- and COOH-terminal gastrin immunoreactivity was 8 ± 1 and 20 ± 1 pmol/l (mean ± SEM), respectively. In patients with acute duodenal ulcer (no. = 30) and acute gastritis (no. = 10) the NH2-terminal immunoreactivity was fourfold increased compared with in healthy subjects (p < 0.001), whereas the COOH-terminal was identical, the NH2- and COOH-terminal concentrations being 33 ± 7 and 22 ± 2 pmol/l in duodenal ulcer and 35 ± 6 and 21 ± 1 pmol/l in acute gastritis. Other groups of patients had NH2- and COOH-terminal gastrin concentrations in serum similar to those measured in healthy subjects. The results suggest that gastrin cells process gastrin-17 abnormally during the acute phase of duodenal ulcer and gastritis.