The specific linker phosphorylation of Smad2/3 indicates epithelial stem cells in stomach; particularly increasing in mucosae of Helicobacter-associated gastritis

Background The gastric corpus and antrum are believed to contain epithelial stem cells in the isthmus. However, the lack of useful markers has hindered studies of their origin. We explored whether Smad2/3, phosphorylated at specific linker threonine residues (pSmad2/3L-Thr), could serve as a marker for stem cells.