The development of progastricsin-immunoreactive cells in the abomasal mucosa of cattle fetuses was studied by immunohistochemistry. Progastricsin-immunoreactive cells were detected first in the fundic and pyloric regions of 52 cm in crown-rump length (CRL) fetuses (about 180 days of gestation). The frequency of occurrence of progastricsin-immunoreactive cells and the intensity of their immunoreactivity increased with the progress of gestation, but most of these immunoreactivities were restricted to the basal portion of the fundic and pyloric glands. After birth, in the fundic mucosa, progastricsin immunoreactivities were found not only in the chief cells but also in the surface mucous cells of the gastric pits. In the cow, the immunoreactivity of the surface mucous cells was even stronger than that of the chief cells. In the pyloric mucosa, progastricsin immunoreactivities were found in the gastric pits and in the basal portion of the pyloric glands, but they were organized in small groups and showed a patchy distribution in the basal portions.
Abomasum Animals