Detection of gastrin mRNA in paraffin‐embedded samples of normal antral mucosae using polymerase chain reaction technique

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Abstract
Gastrin, a peptide hormone produced by the G cells of the gastric antrum, plays a major role in the regulation of digestive mucosal growth. Although some light has been shed on the peptidic aspects of this hormone's mode of action and the co‐regulatory activity in which it is involved along with the other gastrointestinal hormones, little is known at present about the modes of expression of its mRNA at the tissue level. A few attempts have been made so far to detect the transcript, mostly using molecular hybridization techniques. Here it was proposed to detect gastrin mRNA using a RT‐PCR technique on a series of paraffin‐embedded samples of normal human antrum processed with various fixatives commonly used in histology. The transcript was detectable in all the 7‐μm sections of the samples treated with either formalin or Carnoy's solution, whereas Bouin's solution, which is also used as a fixative in histology, was found to have inhibitory effects on the method described here.