Gastric mucosal repair in vitro.

We tested whether cultured gastric mucosal cells would be suitable to study the two major steps of repair: restitution and proliferation. Preparations of freshly isolated epithelial cells of guinea pig gastric mucosa were used for the studies. The cells attached to Petri dishes within 10 h and formed monolayers after 48-72 h. Electron microscopy showed that each cell type was able to form lamellipodia (i.e., cell protrusions) during restitution in vivo. When monolayers were wounded with a razor blade, most cells at the edge of damage died within a few minutes, but some recovered from injury. Later, intact cells migrated from the edge into the denuded zone and restored the monolayer within 24-48 h. An increased number of cells near the edge started to synthesize DNA. In conclusion, this model allows one to study in vitro both aspects of mucosal repair.