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

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.