Control of pepsinogen synthesis and secretion.

The heterogeneous group of proteinases known as pepsinogens are synthesized, stored, and upon appropriate stimulation released from gastric mucosal chief cells. Under the acidic conditions of the lumen of the stomach, the proenzymes, pepsinogens, are converted to "pepsin", which plays an important physiologic role as a digestive enzyme. The potential roles for pepsin in upper gastrointestinal diseases such as gastric or duodenal ulcer and gastroesophageal reflux disease along with the recent development of in vitro gastric gland and isolated chief cell preparations have renewed interest in the study of the control of pepsinogen synthesis and secretion. In this article the authors briefly summarize current knowledge of the biology of pepsinogens and emphasize more recent findings concerning the control of the chief cell, which is related to the synthesis and secretion of pepsinogens in vitro.